Heaven Sermon

Resurrection: Myth or History?

Hi all, thought we could have a little Easter fun and exercise our brains and critical thinking.

Interesting article in the London Times today on the Resurrection written by Oxford professor of Jewish Studies Geza Vermes. The article can be accessed here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article6045173.ece

In this Vermes outlines four alternatives to the bodily resurrection of Christ, and Jim Davila, a well-known rabbinics scholar and keeper of the famous PaleoJudaica Blog calls attention to a fifth popularized by John Dominic Crossan of the Jesus Seminar:

"One can add a fifth and more radical position, held, for example by the NT scholar John Dominic Crossan, that the accounts of the burial of Jesus and the subsequent empty tomb are legendary accretions with no historical basis at all."

Can we open up a discussion on these and formulate responses, particularly in the realm of Vermes' methodological and presuppositional approach?

To enter into the discussion, leave a comment.

Easter Picnic 2009

www.ambassadorchurch.com

Here is a guide to all that you'll need to know for our upcoming Easter Picnic.

Below you'll find the following:

1. Directions to the Park
2. A program for the day
3. A reminder to bring eggs
4. Potluck
   

1. The picnic will be held at Olinda Ranch Park, located on Carbon Canyon Rd., just East of Valencia.

For directions and map you can click here.

2. Easter Picnic Program

• 12:00 Gathering & Snacks


• 12.30 Lunch


• 1:15: Story Time / Games


• 1:30: Easter Egg Hunt in three groups: Ages 0-2, 3-5, 6 & up


• 2:00: Games


• 4.00: Close

4. Remember to bring at least 10 Eggs per child to add to the Easter Egg Hunt.

5. There is still space and need for people to bring things for the potluck. For more information contact Grace Wong.

**** If there are any questions or you need further explanation please contact Pastors Jeff Volkmer, Ethan Hedberg, or Melodie Carroll****

Why Do Church?

Due to some technical difficulties associated with the launch of our new website, I am currently unable to upload the latest small group study guide in a pdf format as is my custom. For this week, until I get the bugs worked out, the best I can do is to post the questions in html here.

LIVING LIFE FROM THE INSIDE OUT
Why Do Church?
Matthew 28.18-20
I. YOUR STORY IN COMMUNITY

1. In your own words, what is the purpose of the Church (note capital ‘C’)?

2. What should be the primary jobs/tasks of a pastor?

3. Throughout your life in the Church, how close would you say the churches you have attended came in fulfilling the purpose(s) you identified in the first question above?

4. What do you see as your primary role in the church?

5. When you choose a church, what are the things that you look for or value?

5b. Do these things line up with number 1 above?

5c. After you consider the ‘Digging Deeper’ section below come back to 4b.


III. DIGGING DEEPER

1. Use a concordance or the Scripture index in the back of your Bible to look up as many verses as possible with the word ‘church’ in them. Based on these, what is the Church?

2. Who is ‘in the ministry?’ In your Bibles can you find a precedent for how we structure or ‘do’ church today? How are our current models of ministry similar and different to those you’ve found in the Scriptures?

3. Read the following passages: Eph 4.11-12, 1Cor 12.4-7, 1 Peter 2.4-9 then consider the following:

Articulate...

...the who, what, where, and why of the church.

...the proper motivation for ministry and ‘doing’ church?

...the job description of a pastor.

The Importance of Self Examination

To download the small group study guide for Pastor Ray's upcoming sermon on 3.29, click here.

A Weak Sermon

Click here to download the small group study guide for Pastor Ray's March 22 sermon, 'Our Greatest Strength is Our Weakness.'

The Marks of a False Apostle

Here is the latest small group study guide for Pastor Ray's upcoming sermon.