Due to precautionary measures put in place today by South Washington County Schools, we will need to cancel our Sunday gathering planned for this coming Sunday, March 15. We received word today from the district saying that they are “taking steps to limit crowds or other large gatherings in [their] schools.” Those steps include our use of the building on Sunday. So again, there will be NO SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE THIS COMING SUNDAY, March 15. As of now, the steps taken by the district only limit us for this coming Sunday. However, it is possible that we will be impacted for Sundays beyond this weekend as well, either because of measures imposed by the district, or those we might consider for ourselves. We will continue to keep an eye on updates from the school district, and recommendations from the MN Department of Health. We’ll also monitor decisions made by other local churches and the TCT network to consider if their response measures might also seem reasonable for our church family. And as we do, we will certainly keep you posted. In the meantime, in light of this Sunday’s cancelation, I’d encourage you to gather with your family in whatever way might feel redeeming and refreshing for you. Maybe take the time to catch up on one of Pastor Brett’s sermons in the Acts series that you’ve missed. Or if you missed any of our vision refresh sermons from January, maybe leverage some time on Sunday to watch one of those. Or, gather as a family, sing a few songs, and select a passage of Scripture on which too meditate together. Again, whatever might feel redeeming and refreshing for your family under the circumstances. Thank you for your flexibility and understanding! And please spread the word ...
This is part 5 in this series of posts. If you haven't already, please take time to read parts1,2,3, and4 As I've mentioned in the previous posts, we hope to build the youth and young adult ministry of Christ Redeemer Church on top of severalvision pillars.The fourth one (in no particular order, by the way) has to do with the role of a young person's family and church r...
Keep ReadingThis is part 4 in this series of posts. If you haven't already, please take time to read parts1,2, and3. Not only do we want to see young people enjoying the benefits of biblical fellowship together with their peers and families, but we also want to see them flourishing in the local church as contributors to its mission. We want young men and young women invested througho...
Keep ReadingThis is part 3 in this series of posts. If you haven't already, please take time to read parts1and2. Christ Redeemer Church wants to see God's kingdom advance through the gospel of Jesus Christ for the Glory of God and the joy of all peoples. Under that broad vision, we want to see young people loving Jesus together with others who love Jesus. That's the thrust of our se...
Keep ReadingThis is part 2 in this series of posts. If you haven't already, please take time to readpart 1. Under the broad vision we have at Christ Redeemer to see God's kingdom advance through the gospel of Jesus, we want to build our ministry to the youth and young adults in our midst upon severalvision pillars.The first of which is directly related to the gospel of Jesus: Lovin...
Keep Reading"Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm" (Prov.13:20). "Do not be deceived: 'Bad company ruins good morals'" (1Cor.15:33). "Nothingperhapsaffects man's character more than the company he keeps. We catch the ways and tone of those we live and talk with, and unhappily get harm far moreeasily than good. Disease is infectious, ...
Keep ReadingAs Christ Redeemer Church seeks to advance the kingdom of God, we want ministry to youth (12-14) and young adults (15-19) to cultivate their Christian maturity. We want to think of them not as "adolescents" drifting into adulthood, but, rather, as "apprentices" learning and pursuing the trade of Christian adulthood from those who have gone before them in the home and in th...
Keep ReadingBack in February, Tullian Tchividjian put up a couple posts on his regular blog over atThe Gospel Coalitionrelated to the downside ofa specific kindof accountability among Christians. Of course, we need accountability:"Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God"(Heb.3:12)."Brothers, if anyone is...
Keep ReadingIt's important, I think, to be regularly reminded that the the Bible is not an instruction manual for life, or a flowchart for wise decision-making, or a guide for healthy relationships. It's helpful to be reminded because the drift into that thinking is natural for many of us without gentle re-direction. "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it." Many of us seem to be spring-loa...
Keep ReadingRepent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts.3:19). Pretty straightforward, right? Repent and you're sins will be forgiven. Well, yes, it is simple, but not simplistic. Let me qualify... Our sins are not blotted out simply with the wave of a magic wand in God's hand and the words, "You're forgiven." It's notsimplythat God loves us andsimplys...
Keep ReadingI read an article last week in theJournal of Family Ministrycalled "The Problem and The Promise of Family Ministry" [JFM 1.1 (2010): 36-43]. The article mentions three trends characterizing ministry to families over the past couple hundred years and suggests that in recent years, a fresh appreciation for the biblical call to parents is taking hold for many, namely, that pa...
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