Who Were the Sadducees and Pharisees?

The Gospels refer often to the Sadducees and Pharisees, as Jesus was in constant conflict with them. The Sadducees and Pharisees comprised the ruling class of Israel. There are many similarities between the two groups but important differences between them as well.

The Sadducees:During the time of Christ and the New Testament era, the Sadducees were aristocrats. They tended to be wealthy and held powerful positions, including that of chief priests and high priest, and they held the majority of the 70 seats of the ruling council called the Sanhedrin. They worked hard to keep the peace by agreeing with the decisions of Rome (Israel at this time was under Roman control), and they seemed to be more concerned with politics than religion. Because they were accommodating to Rome and were the wealthy upper class, they did not relate well to the common man, nor did the common man hold them in high opinion. The common man related better to those who belonged to the party of the Pharisees. Though the Sadducees held the majority of seats in the Sanhedrin, history indicates that much of the time they had to go along with the ideas of the Pharisaic minority, because the Pharisees were popular with the masses.

Religiously, the Sadducees were more conservative in one main area of doctrine. The Pharisees gave oral tradition equal authority to the written Word of God, while the Sadducees considered only the written Word to be from God. The Sadducees preserved the authority of the written Word of God, especially the books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy). While they could be commended for this, they definitely were not perfect in their doctrinal views. The following is a brief list of beliefs they held that contradict Scripture:

1. They were extremely self-sufficient to the point of denying God's involvement in everyday life.
2. They denied any resurrection of the dead (Matthew 22:23; Mark 12:18-27; Acts 23:8).
3. They denied any afterlife, holding that the soul perished at death, and therefore denying any penalty or reward after the earthly life.
4. They denied the existence of a spiritual world, i.e., angels and demons (Acts 23:8).

Because the Sadducees were more concerned with politics than religion, they were unconcerned with Jesus until they became afraid He might bring unwanted Roman attention. It was at this point that the Sadducees and Pharisees united and conspired to put Christ to death (John 11:48-50; Mark 14:53; 15:1). Other mentions of the Sadducees are found in Acts 4:1and Acts 5:17, and the Sadducees are implicated in the death of James by the historian Josephus (Acts 12:1-2).

The Sadducees ceased to exist in A.D. 70. Since this party existed because of their political and priestly ties, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70, the Sadducees were also destroyed.

The Pharisees:In contrast to the Sadducees, the Pharisees were mostly middle-class businessmen, and therefore were in contact with the common man. The Pharisees were held in much higher esteem by the common man than the Sadducees. Though they were a minority in the Sanhedrin and held a minority number of positions as priests, they seemed to control the decision making of the Sanhedrin far more than the Sadducees did, again because they had the support of the people.

Religiously, they accepted the written Word as inspired by God. At the time of Christ's earthly ministry, this would have been what is now our Old Testament. But they also gave equal authority to oral tradition and attempted to defend this position by saying it went all the way back to Moses. Evolving over the centuries, these traditions added to God's Word, which is forbidden (Deuteronomy 4:2), and the Pharisees sought to strictly obey these traditions along with the Old Testament. The Gospels abound with examples of the Pharisees treating these traditions as equal to God's Word (Matthew 9:14; 15:1-9; 23:5; 23:16, 23, Mark 7:1-23; Luke 11:42). However, they did remain true to God's Word in reference to certain other important doctrines. In contrast to the Sadducees, they believed the following:

1. They believed that God controlled all things, yet decisions made by individuals also contributed to the course of a person's life.
2. They believed in the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:6).
3. They believed in an afterlife, with appropriate reward and punishment on an individual basis.
4. They believed in the existence of angels and demons (Acts 23:8).

Though the Pharisees were rivals of the Sadducees, they managed to set aside their differences on one occasion—the trial of Christ. It was at this point that the Sadducees and Pharisees united to put Christ to death (Mark 14:53; 15:1; John 11:48-50).

While the Sadducees ceased to exist after the destruction of Jerusalem, the Pharisees, who were more concerned with religion than politics, continued to exist. In fact, the Pharisees were against the rebellion that brought on Jerusalem's destruction in A.D. 70, and they were the first to make peace with the Romans afterward. The Pharisees were also responsible for the compilation of the Mishnah, an important document with reference to the continuation of Judaism beyond the destruction of the temple.

Both the Pharisees and the Sadducees earned numerous rebukes from Jesus. Perhaps the best lesson we can learn from the Pharisees and Sadducees is to not be like them. Unlike the Sadducees, we are to believe everything the Bible says, including the miraculous and the afterlife. Unlike the Pharisees, we are not to treat traditions as having equal authority as Scripture, and we are not to allow our relationship with God to be reduced to a legalistic list of rules and rituals.

Recommended Resources:Bible Answers for Almost all Your Questions by Elmer TownsandLogos Bible Software.

Read more:http://www.gotquestions.org/Sadducees-Pharisees.html#ixzz3g4xAHPb9

This week's newsletter from Karen

I’m currently reading a book call Listening: The Forgotten Skill. I was surprised at a statistic I came across in this book which compared the amount of time we spend listening to the amount of formal training we get in the skill of listening. According to the author, Madelyn Burley-Allen, we communicate in four modes: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The amount of time we spend in each mode as a percentage of total communication time is 40% listening, 35% speaking, 16% reading, and 9% writing.

We all obviously need training in each of these areas in order to be effective communicators. You would think that the amount of formal training we received in these areas would be proportional to the amount of time we spent using each skill. However, according to Burley-Allen, that is not the case. In fact the actual opposite is true. On average we receive 12 years of formal training in the skill of writing, 6-8 years for reading, 1-2 years for speaking, and 0-1/2 year for listening.

James 1:19 says, “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (NIV). How different would the world be if we all took the time to actually listen to what others are saying? I’m not talking about hearing while a hundred other distractions are running through our minds. I’m talking about actually giving others our full attention and listening to them without those distractions.

Parents, this skill is essential for our children who live in a world where messages are coming at them at a “speed of light” pace. How will they know when to stop and listen when their God is speaking?

My prayer this week is that we will be able to come up with strategies to help our children develop their skill of listening so when God speaks to them, they will be able to focus on what He has to say.

This week's newsletter from Steve

Thank you for all of your prayers and support during our Rock Week of Missions here in Austin last week! We had an amazing time together, and we were able to be involved with some great ministry here in town.

Just to give you a recap of last week’s ministry opportunities, our youth baked cookies/made thank you cards and took them to the local Army recruiting station, as well as to the firefighters at David Smith’s former fire station. They also had a car wash, in which they were able to raise nearly $500 to send to Samaritan’s Purse for disaster relief in Nepal. Then, they made 25 food/ministry kits and we took them out into the streets of Austin and distributed them to people standing beside the roads asking for help. We spent two afternoons helping renovate a new church plant, the Fellowship at Scofield Farms. We painted, landscaped, and removed a ceramic tile floor. We also prayer walked down 6th street, up Congress, and had a prayer time in front of the Capital building. Top all of that off with three amazing nights of worship and Bible study, and it made for a great week together!

Youth Camp is next week! Please be in prayer for our students and leaders as we head to Pineywoods Camp in east Texas. Please pray that God will really reveal Himself to each of us in a new and fresh way, and that hearts will be turned to His will!

This week's newsletter from Gene

It was good to see everyone participating this last Sunday as we sang "Days of Elijah." It's a fun song yet with a good message reminding us that the same God who showed himself so strong in the Old Testament is still at work today. Based on what we see around us, we are grateful He is still on His throne!!

If you have been sitting in the audience, yet wanting to be in choir, your chance is fast approaching. You will be hearing/seeing more from Michael as he gets the fall program ready to kick off. Christmas music will be here this week, so he is ready to go!! We will be having a back-to-choir bar-b-que at Lynn's and my home Sunday evening, August 2nd. You will be hearing more from Michael as he puts this together, but just in case we may not have you on the "choir radar" yet, please send him a note, michael@hillcrest.church, and let him know you would like information.

2nd Half members, our next event is a work project at the Austin Area Food bank, 1:30-4:30pm Saturday, August 1st. Even if you are not normally a part of this ministry but would be interested in participating, send me a note, gene@hillcrest.church, and I'll get you info. You are welcome to join us.

God’s Forward Observers

by Tom Goodman

Have you noticed how often the words “watch” and “pray” are combined in the Bible? Our praying should make us more attentive, our attentiveness should lead us more often to prayer, which should make us even more attentive, and on and on in a building cycle.

If we should we watchful, for what should be watching? We should be alert to the activity of God and pray for its success, and we should be alert to the activity of the Evil One and pray for its defeat.

I remember a story from a pastor who was a Vietnam vet. He recounted how his battalion would set up a firebase in the jungle with huge 8-inch guns. Then, companies of soldiers would fan out in four directions from the base, looking for the enemy. Often, when the enemy was found, they would be in much greater number than the company of American soldiers. When that happened, the company would simply get on the radio and call in the coordinates of the enemy so the firebase could rain shells down on them. The vet said that Christians are God's forward observers in enemy territory. And when we encounter the enemy, we must call down the firepower of heaven.

Ever since he visualized prayer in that way for me, it has energized my prayer life. We must be alert to the work of the enemy. We must be sensitive to his ways in personal relationships, church matters, governmental affairs—we must be awake to his whereabouts, and when we discover his acti­vity, we must radio those coordinates to heaven, calling on the power of divine guns.

We must obey the Scriptures that repeatedly tell us to watch and pray. We must pray for the divine activity we see around us and against the demonic activity we see around us.

How alert are you to these things? Some of us are so focused on our own plans, our own pains, and our own pleasures so much so that we have no sensitivity to the spiritual warfare around us. Maybe today you need to confess, “When it comes to my prayer life, I want to be more alert. I’ve neglected to be God’s forward observer, I’ve been AWOL, but I want to count for him again.”

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ICYMI Thursday

by Tom Goodman

Why Do Americans Drink Coffee?

 

How about taking church attendance using facial recognition software, eh?

 

A Guy Got Struck by Lightning Twice, and His Name Happens to Be Rod

 

“Progressives grew up in an era in which big money corrupted politics, large corporations dominated the economy, and environmental crises threatened the natural world – forces that might rouse the ire of those on the ‘blue’ side of the spectrum today. But the situation was a call to arms for those who were steeped in the Calvinist demand for a righteous society, a kind of moralizing that might be more considered on the ‘red’ side of the current spectrum.” An interesting article by Texas Tech’s Mark Stoll on Teddy Roosevelt and how essential Roosevelt’s Presbyterian Calvinism was to understanding his motivations. “Some recent biographers go so far as to overlook this element of his character completely, but Roosevelt’s friends and colleagues recognized in him, in the words of one friend, ‘the greatest preacher of righteousness in modern times.’”

 

The top 10 religious liberty threats for Christian higher education

Lost in Translation

by Tom Goodman

Mistranslations can be funny, but not always.

The Wall Street Journal reported on some signs at overseas businesses.  The signs were translated into English for American tourists, but the signs lost their meanings in the translations.

Here's one from a Swiss restaurant:
"Our wines leave you nothing to hope for."

Then there's the posted notice in front of a Budapest zoo:
"Please do not feed the animals.  If you have any suitable food, give it to the guard on duty."

One dental office boasted:
"Teeth are extracted by the latest Methodists."

In Copenhagen at least one airline was up front in how it handled luggage.  Its sign read:
"We will take your bags and send them in all directions."

Or here's another from a Japanese hotel, which led to some misunderstandings, I imagine:
"You are invited to take advantage of the chambermaid."

That's like the laundry in Rome that advertised:
"Ladies, leave your clothes here and spend the afternoon having a good time."

Finally, there was the sign at a Paris hotel that advised:
"Please leave your values at the front desk."

Those signs are good for a chuckle.  But it's tragic when things get lost in the translation between Christ's vision for his church and actually seeing the church in action.

That's why we've started a new sermon series called "The Church You've Always Longed For."  We're looking at six challenges from the Gospel of Matthew; and if we rise to those challenges, we can be a better church.  Last week we began the series by looking at how to place divine truth ahead of human tradition (listen here).  This week we continue our series with a lesson on how to let love overcome prejudice.  You can prepare for the message by reading Matthew 15:21-39.

This series is for your seeking friends as well as for believers.  Some start to consider Christ and then give up their examination of Jesus because a certain Christian or a particular church has disappointed them.  But isn't that like rejecting Beethoven's genius because your kid's middle school orchestra performed his work so poorly?

Christ's vision for his church is an ideal worth realizing.  To love Jesus means loving what he loves -- and, according to Scripture, Jesus "loved the church and gave himself up for her" (Ephesians 5:25).  Let's get together and figure out how to love the church as he did.  Join us this Sunday at 10!

This week's newsletter from Karen

July is one of my favorite months of the year. Why July? Because July means it's camp month.

July 6-9 the 1st and 2nd graders will head out to Reunion Ranch in Georgetown for Kidz Kamp.

It's going to be a busy month, but like I said, it's my favorite. I love taking the kids to camp because I get the chance to interact with them in an environment that is all about having fun - all kids’ #1 priority.

I think God uses times when we are out of our normal patterns to get our attention. No different for kids. Camps provide that opportunity for kids and I've had the privilege of seeing God speak to many kids in a camp atmosphere.

Pray this week that the kids we take will hear from God as they have a safe, fun camp experience.

This week's newsletter from Steve

This week is Rock Week for our youth. Please pray for us as we undertake in-town mission work. We are looking forward to a great week together, and cannot wait to see what God will do in our midst!

This week's newsletter from Gene

We are in a “scattered mode” as summer is in full swing and our people are traveling everywhere. It is always interesting to me to hear where all our people have been, or are going. Several of our members’ jobs take them to various parts of the country and the world on a pretty regular basis. Vacation travel plans take others to many destinations. Please be in prayer for those traveling.

One of our own who will be traveling this week is Anna Grace Dickard. She leaves at the end of this week to begin her journey, which will include some stops here in the US for training, then on to the Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya to begin her 2 year term of service as a house mother. The Rift Valley Academy provides education for missionary children throughout Africa. Anna Grace was a student there as she grew up in Africa, where her parents are IMB missionaries. Rift Valley Academy is owned and operated by African Inland Missions, but many of our International Mission Board missionary children go there. Pray for Anna Grace as she makes this journey and for her ministry there.

Your giving is a major factor in her being able to do this ministry. The Mission Team, using a portion of your undesignated offerings that goes to missions, will be providing about one half of her financial needs for the next two years. Thank you for your faithful giving. Just over 10% of everything you give through the budget offerings each week goes to fund missions.

Jump into July!

by Tom Goodman

From pancakes to picnics, we’re doing something special every Sunday in July. Bring a friend and enjoy these special events with your Hillcrest Family:

July 5 at 10am: Pancakes and Praise. This Independence Day weekend, our worship service will take place in the Multipurpose Center (MPC). We’ll meet at 10am for a pancake brunch—and the organizers tell me they’re planning patriotic pancakes, so you’ll have to come see what that’s about! We’ll stay in the MPC for the worship service around the fellowship tables. Expect the festivities to end around 11:30am. Our thanks to Pam Dahl and her Common Ground group for hosting this!

July 12 at 5:30pm: Family Movie Night. Bring your lawn chair or comfy quilt for this one, and we’ll turn the MPC into a big living room for the whole Hillcrest Family. We’ll watch Big Hero 6 and visit the free concession stand. We don’t want to run out of goodies at the concession stand, so help us plan by registering for this event at our website.

July 19 at 5:30pm: Game Night. Bring your homemade ice cream, some goodies for the snack table, and come enjoy board games and volleyball. Our thanks to Rebekah Fountain and her Common Ground group for hosting this!

July 26 at 10:00am: Baptism in the Park. An annual tradition! We’ll start off at Hillcrest with our regular 10am worship service. Instead of our small-group hour at 11am, head to Emma Long Park with your lunch. We’ll eat together, celebrate baptisms, and spend a lazy afternoon under the oaks and junipers. To participate in the baptism ceremony, adults need to complete the Discover Hillcrest course. The next one is July 19 and you can contact me to let me know of your interest. Youth should contact Steve Cloud and children should talk with Karen Raulie. There’s a great video explaining the importance of baptism at www.hillcrest.church/baptism.

New Summertime Sermon Series. This Sunday we begin a new series called “The Church You’ve Always Longed For.” It’s an exposition of Matthew 15-18, where Jesus shows us his expectations for those who belong to him. Read ahead and pray in preparation for this important summertime study.

This week's newsletter from Karen

As I was reading through some lessons for children I came across this one. Try it with your children this week.

Who Do You See?

Items needed: mirror and a Bible with a marker in Exodus 20

Ask:
How is the Bible like a mirror? (It shows us the truth about ourselves, it shows us where we have sinned, etc.)

When we look in a mirror, we see what we look like and what we may need to change. God’s Word is like a mirror. It helps us see what is wrong and what we need to change. God recorded His rules (Ten Commandments) in Exodus 20. Read them aloud and talk about our failure to keep them. (Have we always put God first? Have we always told the truth? Have we always honored our parents? etc.)

This would be a good time to talk with each child about faith:
Do you believe in Jesus?
Do you understand why He died on the cross?
Have you ever sinned? Young children are often unwilling to admit they have sinned–even though you know they have. Explain what sin is (breaking God’s rules) and point out examples of sin, but it is the Holy Spirit who must convict of sin.
Are you ready to make the decision to trust Jesus to take away your sins? 

Some good verses to read with the child are:

• John 3:16 (God loves you and sent His son to die for you.)
• Romans 3:23 (All have sinned.)
• Romans 6:23 (The payment for sin is death; the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.)
• John 1:12 (All who believe in Jesus and receive Him are adopted into God’s family.)

Taken from Splink, July 8-14, 2012.

This week's newsletter from Steve

Next week, July 6-8, is our in-town Mission Trip for 2015, called Rock Week! We will be serving lunch at the Soup Kitchen all three days, doing some fix-up work for a local church plant with the Austin Baptist Association, and other activities to raise money for disaster relief through Samaritan’s Purse. These activities alone would be amazing, but that is not all!

Students will sleep at the church Monday and Tuesday nights. We will be having a worship service each night in the Summit at 7:00 PM! Bible study will be led by Jesse Hicks, from Spring, TX, and worship will be led by Joey Porter of Austin. We will also have late-night activities, so the schedule will be full! Rock Week will be over after the evening Worship time, so that is when parents need to come pick up students. In fact, parents are more than welcome to come and participate in the evening worship services at 7:00 PM each night.

Lastly, the cost… There is no cost to participate in Rock Week. The only thing that we ask is that students come with a willing heart to be used by God, and a good work ethic. It will cost you some time, maybe even some sleep, but in the end, it will be well worth it!

We are looking forward to a great week together, and can not wait to see what God will do in our midst! Please let me know if you have any questions!

This week's newsletter from Gene

We had an excellent trip to Orlando this past week with the youth choir!  Thank you for your prayers. We did lots of driving, just over 2,500 miles from when we left Sunday morning until we returned Saturday night. The kids were really fun to be with and the conference was very well scheduled with outstanding speakers, good rehearsal times, an very good experience working with kids in a transitional home shelter, then topped off with a recording Friday before we left. It will be neat to get to hear the full recording of 800+ students singing. It was very good live. Thank you Michael for a job well done!!

The new van was a real treat to get to drive and use. It should serve Hillcrest well for many years. We averaged 19.4 miles per gallon for the entire trip, during which the van was loaded and running two air conditioners the entire time, including 4 days of driving in Orlando. Pretty impressive!! Thank you Church!!

“This is not your father’s culture war”

by Tom Goodman

From William McGurn for the WSJ:

Back when…Roe v. Wade established a right to privacy that…appears nowhere in the Constitution, [Harry Blackmun] wrote under the conceit that his decision would resolve the issue once and for all. Instead, his 1973 ruling launched the culture wars.

Obergefell is Roe on steroids….Roe didn’t demand much of those on the other side—or on the sidelines. Obergefell is another thing altogether.

…

What can it possibly matter to you, [we] were asked, if two men or two women who love each other call their relationship marriage?

We learned that it matters a great deal….

The right for men to marry men or women to marry women is only half of the equation—and not even the most important half at that.

The other half involves antidiscrimination statutes and regulations, not to mention the discretion of federal, state and even private bureaucracies regarding everything from funding and accreditation to tax exemption.

In short, there is nothing live-and-let-live about the way this movement has operated the past few years, and to pretend otherwise requires a willful blindness….

As Justice Samuel Alito suggested in his dissent, thousands of Americans who never dreamed that the issue would affect them will soon get highly personal lessons in how the legalization of same-sex marriage by judicial fiat threatens their schools, their institutions and even their livelihoods. This is not your father’s culture war.

We prepared for this several weeks ago in Week 2 of our series, In and Out: Seeking Christ in Sexual Confusion. The series of sermons and all resources are here.

ICYMI Thursday

by Tom Goodman

Austin Zoo reenacts Jurassic World velociraptor scene in viral photo

 

Apparently I’m not the only pastor who found Allen’s Getting Things Done system helpful: “GTD’s most surprising superfans have their minds on higher things. "The clergy love it," says Allen. "I have often argued that we should create a clerGTD. From any and all denominations. It’s quite ecumenical. They know how to do the God stuff, but it’s all the stuff they have to handle that they weren’t trained to do. The more they do that, the more they can focus on the more meaningful stuff."”  This article provides a summary of David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” system, which I (sort of) use, and his claim that not everyone is doing it right.

 

Here’s how our own BGCT-affiliated Baptist Standard angled the report on the SBCs action toward a church with views incompatible with our Baptist Faith and Message: “SBC ousts Alabama church over pastor’s stand on homosexuality.” Listen, folks, any time a reporter—or an editor—uses the word “ousts” in reporting on this subject, you’ve just received a big tip on his or her bias. So, the SBC did some “ousting” while the pastor “stood.” Got it?

 

Confederate Battle Flag Talk:

“The cross and the Confederate flag cannot co-exist without one setting the other on fire.” Russell Moore, in a must-read piece

 

“Some [in the 50s, 60s, and 70s] displayed it as a curiosity, a general symbol of rebellion against authority, or an emblem of regional pride…[but] the flag was created by an army raised to kill in defense of slavery, revived by a movement that killed in defense of segregation, and now flaunted by a man who killed nine innocents in defense of white supremacy.” The Atlantic

 

National Review’s David French on why the Confederate battle flag should stay.

 

NYT:

In Austin, Tex., a tall bearded man went into the tattoo parlor where Kelly Barr works with a request: the removal [of] a 10-year-old tattoo of the Confederate flag.

He told Mr. Barr that he had decided to get the flag removed when he saw the pained look on a middle-age black woman at his gym on Monday.

“ ‘If South Carolina can take theirs down,’ ” Mr. Barr recalled him saying, “ ‘I can take mine down.’ I told him, ‘Right on.’ ”

This week's newsletter from Karen

7 Things Every Kid Needs to Hear

I Love You – As parents I know we all show our love to our children in many different ways. We may even say “I Love You” very often. But how often do we really sit down with our kids and tell them we love them when we (and they) are giving our full attention to the words and their meaning. Take some time this week and purpose to tell your children how much you love them.

I’m Proud of You – Believe or not, parents are still the #1 influence in the lives of their children. Statistics show that this doesn’t change until well into their 20s. Our children need to know that they give us a feeling of pleasure or satisfaction just the way they are.

I’m Sorry – I don’t know about you, but I hate being wrong. But there is one thing I hate more – admitting out loud I was wrong. We all make mistakes and we must tell our children we are sorry when we have done something wrong. This not only humbles us, it models the behavior for them.

I Forgive You – Just as we are going to make mistakes, so are our children. If we are modeling proper “I’m Sorry” behavior, they will begin to say they are sorry for things they have done. Once they have taken responsibility for their wrongs, we must forgive them. They need to know that our love is never attached to their behavior.

I’m Listening – Have your ever been talking to someone and knew the whole time that person was not listening to you. How did you feel? Sometimes my kids will be talking to me and I’ll catch myself not listening to them. I immediately know that empty feeling they are having because they’ve been ignored. If you will listen to your kids when the topics seem silly, mundane, boring, etc., I can almost guarantee they will come to you when the topic’s of greater importance or dire.

This Is Your Responsibility – Kids need to fail. I’ll repeat that – kids need to fail. We cannot be parents that continuously clear obstacles out of the paths our children are taking. Some parents clear obstacles in such a way that their child never knew the obstacle existed. Kids need to come up against obstacles and (with your advice and support, but not your action) make the decisions of how to tackle them. Sometimes they’ll get it wrong and fail, but this failure won’t ruin them. It will most likely make them better decision makers in the future. The earlier we start letting them take responsibility in the small things, the better they will be when the larger and more complex problems come their way.

You’ve Got What it Takes – Kids need to understand that God has created them just exactly the way he wants them. They also need to understand that God is in control. Knowing and understanding these two things is all they need to know they can face anything that comes their way.


The above was adapted from JoshShipp.com

This week's newsletter from Steve

Summer is flying by, and July is already peeking its head around the corner. There are a couple of things coming up on the calendar that I want to highlight here.

First, our in-town Mission Trip, called Rock Week, will be held at Hillcrest on July 6-8, 2015. We will treat this like a mini-camp, in that the kids will stay at the church on Monday and Tuesday nights. We will work at the Soup Kitchen downtown, have a car wash to raise money for disaster relief, feed homeless on street corners, and so much more! We will also have a group Bible Study and worship time each night, led by Jesse Hicks from Spring, TX, with Joey Porter leading music each night. Top that off with some late night activities, and it is bound to be a great week together! The greatest part of this is the cost. Students can participate, and even bring friends along, and the cost is ZERO! What an amazing opportunity for our students to minister right here in Austin!

There are still a handful of spots open for Youth Camp at Pineywoods, July 20 – 24, 2015. It is going to be an amazing week! Looking forward to spending time seeking God with our students among the beautiful pine trees in east Texas!

Please let me know if you have any questions about either of these events!

This week's newsletter from Gene

Lynn, Michael, Paul and Jodena Smith and I are in Orlando, Florida with the youth choir. Lynn and I were here several years ago with a youth choir, and it was an excellent experience. We’re here Monday through Friday of this week.

We have a very busy schedule, including a mission project, an afternoon at Universal Studios, and lots of singing, Bible study and a special speaker.

There will be 800+ students, with rehearsals all week and then a special recording session Friday afternoon to record a CD.

After the recording session we will head home, and be back Saturday evening. Please pray for us.

ICYMI Thursday

by Tom Goodman

NYT: “Many in their 20s and 30s [are] feeling financial pressure over attending elaborate and demanding festivities that lead up to and also include the wedding.” Just the next stage in runaway narcissism that I’ve watched take over weddings during my years as pastor.

 

Jim Gaffigan: “My faith is very associated with the notion of mercy. I understand that there is something greater than myself that does not judge me in a negative manner—or forgives me I should say. For me, being in touch with the idea that I’m not in control of everything is important. When I find myself frustrated, I have some distance from that idea I’m not in charge, for instance in how this conference call is setup.” First Things interviews the Gaffigans about being Catholic celebrities.

 

“He has baptized 66 umpires so far, calling them safe in the only way that matters.” An ESPN profile of Pastor Dean Esskew and his ministry to major league and minor league umpires.

 

His conversion led him to the feet of one he oppressed under apartheid.

 

Know Your Southern Baptists: A Directory

This week's newsletter from Karen

Summer Camp by the Numbers

3650 – dribbles of the basketball.
2000 – waves of pom poms.
1164 – trips to the restroom.
633 – meals served.
473 – pictures developed.
213 – t-shirts given out.
108 – minutes of daily scrimmage time.
123 – elementary children.
71 – adult and student leaders.
25 – awards medals given.
36 – professions of faith.
17 – preschool children.
15 – cheers performed.
8 – very tired committee members.
1 – amazing God!

This week's newsletter from Steve

Steve is serving at Super Summer at Hardin-Simmons University this week. Please pray for him and for our other members who are involved in service there.

Are your students signed up yet for Youth Camp at Pineywoods? There are still a few slots open. This camp is open for incoming 7th graders as well, so get your registrations in as soon as possible! The camp is July 20-24, and the cost is $290. 

This week's newsletter from Gene

How often do you have to decide if you are coming to church? That may sound like a strange question, and for some, the answer is every week; for others, maybe a couple times per month. For some it will be, “I haven’t made that decision for years.” Which group is the “preferred” group? The group that hasn’t decided in many years. Does that seem like a strange answer? Not when you really understand.

I’ve seen many people over the years that make the decision regarding their church attendance every Saturday night, depending upon their circumstances. Consequently, their church attendance is kind of a hassle for them, since they have to decide every week and attendance is up and down. There are those who have adopted the position you heard Bro. Tom describing this past Sunday, and they have decided early on in their relationship with the Lord, that regular church attendance is a part of their on-going commitment. For these people, they have decided that they were going to church each week and the only decision they have to make is when their life circumstances make attendance not make sense. These people are at peace in this decision making process and it doesn’t come up as a family discussion for a vote each Saturday night. Life works so much better.

Decide to decide. Is church attendance going to be an important part of your relationship with the Lord or not? If it is, make that decision and be done with it. If it isn’t, ask yourself, “why not.” Hebrews 10:25.

ICYMI Thursday

by Tom Goodman

Austin couple's wedding photos go viral, but husband gets the last laugh

 

Uncertainty for Bruce Jenner Lane in South Austin

 

How the Red Cross Raised Half a Billion Dollars for Haiti ­and Built Six Homes

 

The Myers-Briggs Personality Test is unreliable—and why you should use it anyway.

 

At Georgetown University, Robert Putnam and President Obama said that America’s churches have failed the poor for being too obsessed with the culture war. Ross Douthat, in reply: “It would be too kind to call these comments wrong; they were ridiculous.” Indeed. “The belief that organized religion is organized around culture war is largely a conceit of the irreligious.”

 

What Would Clockwise Mean Without Old-Fashioned Clocks?

 

When politicians talk about “freedom of worship” instead of “freedom of religion,” are they watering down First Amendment rights?

This week's newsletter from Karen

In the coming days graduates will hear much advice on how to approach the next phase of their adult life. Some will catch their attention, some will get eye rolls, some will not be understood, and some will never even be “heard.”

What I think God would say if He was the keynote speaker at commencement:

Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
(1 Thessalonians 5:12-24)

Congratulations Class of 2015!

This week's newsletter from Steve

This week’s column is from Amy Cloud:

Thank you for being the hands and feet of Christ during my long recovery. My family is so thankful for all the meals, donations, and visits from so many of you. Thank you also for the continued prayers. You are a blessing!

This week's newsletter from Gene

We are in the process of changing out all our thermostats to ones we can control remotely and program to match our activities. However, we don’t have them all switched yet (we have 27 total), which leaves some of them available for anyone to change. Please allow me to present “Thermostat 101,” which will also help you at your homes and wherever you have access to thermostats.

Think of a thermostat as an “On/Off” switch. It is a “timer” with a thermometer. The thermometer tells the thermostat when to turn on or off. When an air conditioning system is in the “On” position and working properly, it will push air into the room at about 55 degrees.

When you set the thermostat to cool, you are telling the thermometer when to turn the AC off. Remember, the AC is either “On” or “Off.” It produces cool air of approximately 55 degrees. The question is, “How long do you want that 55-degree air to flow into the room?”

For example, the room temp is 80 degrees and you set the thermostat to 64 because it’s really hot and you don’t have much time to cool off the room. The AC comes on and puts 55-degree air into the room until the room temperature reaches 64. No one wants to be in a room at 64 degrees, which is what we sometimes find when we come in the morning: condensation on the windows and a 64-degree room when the AC was left on all night.

If you want the room to be 72, set the thermostat to 72. The AC will push 55-degree air into the room until the thermometer says it is 72, and it will turn off the AC. Setting it lower will not cool it faster.

If you happen to be in a room that is not yet converted to the new thermostats, please NEVER set them below 72 degrees, regardless of how hot it feels. Remember, you are turning on a timer. At what temperature do you want it to turn off? (By the way, when you leave a room, turning the thermostat to 85 really helps.)

Too Busy Not to Pray

by Tom Goodman

 

Are you “reviewing the dailies” with God?

Pastor John Ortberg was struck by an article from cinematographer Bob Fisher about the need for movie crews to spend some time every day reviewing the film that was shot the day before. Before rushing into the next day’s production, reviewing the previous day’s work enables filmmakers to spot little mistakes while they can still be corrected, and they can celebrate what is going right.

Ortberg recommended that we take a few moments to “review the dailies” with God, too. How are you doing in that important work? Do you have a daily Bible reading routine? A place and time to pray and briefly reflect?

I have a love-hate relationship with the writings of Anne Lamott, but Andree Seu alerted me to an absolutely beautiful Lamott story of a friend whose two-year-old inadvertently locked himself in his room while they were on vacation. It illustrates why we need that regular time of prayer and Bible study. As Seu recounts it:

The Mom struggled vainly to get the door unlocked -- trying a few keys she knew weren’t the right ones, phoning around to get the landlord. Finally someone was reached and on the way, but there was still a frightened little boy to deal with as they waited for rescue, and his reasoning and verbal skills being minimal, he would not understand the nearness of his deliverance.

So Mom got the bright idea to get down on her knees on her side of the door and slip her fingers underneath in the inch or so gap between door and floor, and she asked the inconsolable child to do the same. He would not be able to see his mother’s face until the savior bearing keys arrived, but the feel of her presence through her fingertips while they waited provided some comfort and a sense that everything would be all right.

This is like our relationship with God. For now we are bereft of his full presence, for reasons not entirely clear. But he holds out his fingers and I hold out mine, as we touch through his Word and his Spirit every morning. Like Anne says, “It isn’t enough. And it is.”

We are often very much like frightened, confused children. Through prayer and Bible reading, let God give you that “touch” from the other side, reassuring us that everything’s going to be okay as we wait for deliverance.

__________________________________________

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This week's newsletter from Karen

Parents – Please read the blog post below and be aware. I’ve had conversations with elementary students that have been participating in this game. It might not be so innocent. 

Church and Culture
Vol. 11, No. 45
Don’t Call Charlie

A new challenge game is going viral. It’s about connecting with a dead spirit from Mexico named “Charlie.” 

Fueled by thousands of videos from young people supposedly showing “contact,” the game is played by placing two pencils in the shape of a cross on a piece of paper with the words “yes” and “no.” Those present then repeat the phrase, “Charlie, Charlie can we play?” in order to make contact with the demon.

If “Charlie” is there, the pencils are said to move toward his answer. 

If “present,” then questions of any kind are asked…and answered. 

To end the game, players say, “Charlie, Charlie can we stop?” 

If you are ever invited to play this game, don’t. In fact, flee the entire situation. Don’t even be present as an observer. 

If you are a parent that catches even the slightest whiff of this in your child’s life, do quick intervention.

Because it’s not a game.

It’s the occult. 

The word “occult” just means that which is hidden, or secret, beyond the range of ordinary human knowledge or below the surface of normal life. Used in that sense, it’s almost a neutral term. But it has come to be used as a reference to those practices which link up, intentionally or not, with the hidden, or secret, world of Satan and his demons. 

And that is not neutral.

Then it involves engaging the forces of darkness, connecting with Satan and his fellow demons. When someone does that, they willfully open the door of their life to their presence and activity. 

And nothing could be more dangerous. 

So what are the marks of something “occultic” in this way? There are three primary characteristics: 

The first characteristic is the disclosure or communication of information unavailable to humans through normal means. This would involve things like horoscopes, fortune-telling, psychic hotlines, and tarot cards.

The second mark of things occultic has to do with the placing of persons in contact with supernatural powers, paranormal energies, or demonic forces. This would entail the attempt to summon up a spirit, or a deceased relative through a séance, or channeling a spirit, or procuring the services of someone claiming to be a medium. 

The third mark of the world of the occult is any attempt to gain and master power in order to manipulate or influence other people into certain actions. This would include all forms of witchcraft and the casting of spells.

There is no dead spirit from Mexico named Charlie.

There are, however, demons only too happy for the ruse.

And the open door.

James Emery White

Sources 

“The Charlie Charlie Challenge – what is the spooky craze?,” The Telegraph, May 27, 2015

This week's newsletter from Steve

This Sunday, June 7, is our chance as a church body to recognize both our high school and college graduates from Hillcrest. We will be taking some time during the service to give a gift to our high school seniors, and to pray over them and our college graduates.

High school graduates need to be at the church by 9:45 AM, and please sit on the first or second row. We will give you some instructions about what is going to happen during the service, and when to come up onstage. Looking forward to honoring you guys this Sunday!

There are also still a few spots left for Youth Camp in July. If your student has not signed up yet, there is still time! However, space is very limited, so please contact me ASAP! Have a wonderful week!

This week's newsletter from Gene

You may have seen a new van sitting out front this past Sunday. We have a new 12 passenger van, a 2015 Mercedes Sprinter with lots of luggage space and extensive safety features. FEDEX owns approximately 60,000 of these vehicles, so they are some of the most reliable on the road. We have looked at the various vans in this class for the past several weeks and this model was head and shoulders above the other brands. The Lord made this one available at very little price difference from the others in the market.

As you are probably aware, we try very hard to avoid borrowing money. It’s been about 15 years since we had debt from a financial institution. That was for about 18 months to fund completion of the three story Education building. It was about a $1.5 million project. We completed the auditorium renovation by borrowing from ourselves, and those funds have all been repaid.

We paid cash for this van, as we have all the vehicles we have purchased since 1991. Part of what made this purchase possible was using funds from the Jeanne Schmidt estate. We are also using some of those funds to provide proper campus-wide signage, which we hope to have completed by the end of the summer.

As we have evaluated our vehicle usage, we have determined that there is a very limited number of times each year when we need three vehicles. We have decided it is more cost efficient to rent an extra vehicle for those times. We will sell our oldest van, a 1998 model, as soon as possible. We will wait to sell the other traditional 15 passenger van, a 2011 model, after it is used for a couple of summer camps. That will give us only two vehicles. Funds from these sales will go back into the Schmidt estate account for future use.

The two remaining vehicles should provide us the needed space for our ongoing events, and both are easily accessible by senior adults as well as the other age groups who will use them.

How to Survive a Cultural Crisis

by Tom Goodman

“It’s going to be an issue.”

These six words might tell you all you need to know about the road ahead for faithful Christians in the public square.

It was an answer given during oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, a case that sets the stage for the legalization of same-sex marriage in all fifty states. Justice Samuel Alito asked Solicitor General Donald Verrili if the redefinition of marriage he was advocating would negatively impact the tax-exempt status of religious institutions who continued to maintain policies built on the traditional definition of marriage.

“You know,” Verrili said in reply, “I — I don’t think I can answer that question without knowing more specifics, but it’s certainly going to be an issue. I — I don’t deny that. I don’t deny that, Justice Alito. It is — it is going to be an issue.”

Indeed.

In fact, stories of discrimination against people of faith have already been piling up. On the west coast, the CEO of Mozilla was fired because someone dug back in contribution records and found the Catholic businessman had donated to the campaign that (briefly) codified traditional marriage in California. On the east coast, Atlanta’s fire chief was terminated when someone complained about a book the Baptist had written about his Christian faith because deep into the book it contained a line against homosexuality. It didn’t matter that investigations proved no actual acts of discrimination against gay or lesbian employees by either man. In between these two coasts are former owners of family businesses now made bankrupt by lawsuits and government fines because they wouldn’t use their talents and resources to celebrate a marriage their faith said was no marriage. Even in red-state Texas, when Houston pastors objected to the mayor’s equal-rights ordinance, her administration had all their sermons subpoenaed for review.

So, yeah, like the Solicitor General said, it’s going to be an issue.

Some react to these reports with apathy, but others react with alarm. Neither response is appropriate. When Peter and John wrote to Christians facing hardship, they both opened with the statement, “Do not be surprised” (1 Peter 4:12; 1 John 3:13).

So, then, what is a fitting reaction to the growing religious liberty crisis? That’s my topic this upcoming Sunday. Join us for the study at 10am, and then at the 11am small-group hour, I will lead a panel discussion in the Multipurpose Center on this subject.

__________________________________________

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"Tempting as it is to dismiss the malleability of sexual orientation, resist the urge"

by Tom Goodman

This was first posted on May 26, 2012. I’m re-posting it to correspond with our May 31 sermon and panel discussion.

William Saletan of Slate is a must-read columnist for me. He's center-left, which means we would not agree on a number of topics if we were sitting together at a coffee shop. But I could see us actually sitting at a coffee shop. In a recent column, "Fifty Shades of Gay," Saletan cautions his fellow pro-gay advocates against insisting on what kind of thinking must be right for everyone with same-sex attractions:

Homosexuality is fundamentally personal, not political. Like heterosexuality, it varies from person to person, and it can evolve over a lifetime. Experience and research suggest it’s extremely unlikely that you can change your sexual orientation, and you’re better off accepting who you are. But what’s true for you may not be true for someone closer to the margins of homosexuality. Tempting as it is to...dismiss the malleability of sexual orientation, resist that urge. Morally and therapeutically, it’s better to treat people as individuals....An unusual subset of highly motivated people can find ways to alter their sexual self-understanding and possibly their behavior. Those people have no grounds to say conversion therapy will work for the rest of us. And we have no grounds to say it can’t work for them.

He's written about this before. It seems a perfectly tolerant position, though stated more center-left than I would state it. In fact, other than the "accepting who you are" sentiment, his view is compatible with the Christian message.

The "accepting who you are" sentiment won't do: I don't want to "accept" those parts of me that are incompatible with Christ's expectation of me. But aside from that, Saletan's on to something with his defense of those "highly motivated people" who have found ways to "alter their sexual self-understanding and possibly their behavior."

That's a good description of discipleship for Christians who have same-sex attractions. The call of Christ to those with such an orientation is not to first expunge the attraction and only then surrender to Christ's saving Lordship. Rather, the call of Christ to those experiencing same-sex attraction is like the call He extends to every other believer: We receive his mercy and then accept the task of conforming our mind and actions to his values. We are indeed--all Christians--"highly motivated to alter our self-understanding and behavior," to use Saletan's words, in whatever ways our self-understanding or behavior is out of line with Christ's expectations.

Such a process isn't easy or overnight, but neither is it dangerous or unreasonable.