I just can’t get enough…

of those “moosen”.

They took 13 runners and 13 finished the 13.1 mile race in San Diego last weekend. Congrats bounding ones!

Community

According to Merriam-Webster community is defined as “a unified body of individuals.”  Would you consider 7ten to be a community based on that definition? To really be effective at ministering to our generation we need to show the world the love of Christ, and there is no easier way to show love than in the context of Christian community.  As a part of 7ten, what are you doing to help cultivate a culture of community, unity, and love?

I have noticed in the time i have been attending 7ten that there are a lot of disconnected people there and then there are also quite a few groups of really well connected people. If you are in one of these groups when you notice all the people gathering around to talk before and after 7ten, be intentional about looking around for people who are alone, or disconnected. Invite them over and introduce them to your group. This seems like a very easy way to begin to establish unity and community in 7ten. As people begin to feel like they belong here, they will begin to open up to learn about what we believe.

-Dave the intern.

Question

What does it mean to you to be a “spiritual person”? 

A Single Perspective

So I’ve been single a while.  Okay, I’ve been single my entire 30 years.  And I’ve had a lot of time to think and pray (God knows in my humble opinion, too much time).  This single thing sure can get confusing.  One of the things I’ve been questioning is why more and more people are putting marriage off until later in life.  Some may be doing so for legitimate reasons, I don’t know.  I do know that I hope to get married and I know an amazing group of women, from young twenties to young thirties that want to be married as well (sooner rather than later).  Sometimes we’ll discuss marriage but the prospects of it seem bleak.  Could it be that the church is falling right in line with the culture in regards to marriage?  It seems as though we’ve put it on the back burner on low simmer.  And in not wanting to over romanticize it, we’ve beat it with accusations of discontentment and allowed “more important matters” to keep it muffled.  If the world can see a picture of Christ and His bride through the union of a man and a woman, shouldn’t the church speak becomingly of this relationship and use some of the force to help move singles toward marriage?… (read the full article here)

Marriage Reading

This Tuesday we are looking at marriage from Ephesians 5. This passage is probably the most exhaustive and comprehensive treatment on the topic of marriage in the NT. God has a very high view of marriage and when understood it is beautiful and empowering.

We want to have a few resources for you all to dive into after the message. I highly recommend you read these articles and listen to these messages to deepen your understanding of marriage. Our deep desire is that your affections for marriage would be stirred and we would become a community who honors, esteems, and pursues Godly marriages.

Articles
1. Love and Respect in Marriage by Ken Sande
2. A beautiful reflection on a beautiful marriage
3. An excellent packet on marriage by Tim Keller. Go through it whether you are married or single.
4. The Cost of Delaying Marriage
5. This is more on the previous article. Defending the Cost of Delaying Marriage

seven:ten-ers on the run!

Check out the seven:ten-ers who participated in Pat’s Run last weekend!
These folks are all part of the running club on Wednesday nights. See the details on the classifieds “events” section for more info.

 

CARE Community Festival (part 2)

Here is a slideshow of the CARE Community Festival. Enjoy!  

 

The CARE Community Festival

I was asked to write a post about this weekend’s CARE Festival so below are some of my thoughts.  I’d love to hear your thoughts and stories from this weekend as well, so please share yours below.

My first thought is that I am so proud and grateful to be a part of the seven:ten community, as well as the larger community of East Valley Bible and Pan de Vida. It was incredible to see all of you participate in the preparation leading up to the event, flex as the day went on, and serve the people of the 85204 area in a tremendous way. The feedback I received from those outside our ministry as well as what I personally saw in all of you blew me away. The Lord is moving us in a significant way and was evident to me that He is growing our hearts for the people around us. I hope you rejoice with me in what you see Him doing in and through us.

My second thought has to do with something that Tyler says-
that as we seek remedies to social and spirtiual issues we will encounter tension. We encounter tension because there are a million motives and circumstances colliding through imperfect people. This weekend was one example of the tension we are caught in as we aim to seek the “peace of our city” yet those we aim to serve live amongst the fear and complexity of the immigration issue.  So despite the political tension we experienced, I am confident that God began to accomplish this goal through and progress was made towards a more peaceful, healthy 85204.

My final thought is that the investment you made was most fully evident in the hearts of the people you served.  There were many tangible fruits of your investment however, which include:

-kids being able to play with police officers free of intimidation

-mothers (under unthinkable financial pressure) being able to enjoy a free lunch and music as their kids were cared for 

-others that were able to connect with CARE and resources that will provide them with valuable support

I pray you were encouraged by Saturday and are emboldened for more investments in our community like this.  Thank you for all you did to make it come together.

~Danielle

(More photos coming soon)

 

What does this mean?

This quote is from a 20-something who has traveled thousands of miles, detoured his career, witnessed the death of his brother, and has been severly injured for the Gospel. 

“There are things in this life that are far worse than death…The most horrible and terrifying thing that I can imagine isn’t that I would put all that I am on the line for a cause I believe in and then be called on it. The most horrible and terrifying thing (I can imagine) is the thought that I could spend my whole existence minimizing the risks I take, living ignorantly convinced of my safety, rejecting the purpose I was created for, and then someday wake up an old man and see that my life has passed before me, and now with death knocking at my door realize that in all my years I have never truly lived…”

-Erik Mirandette, The Only Road North

Ironically, right after I read this quote for the half-dozenth time I clicked on our seven:ten Bible Reading of the day.  The last portion of the readings was from the book of Luke where Jesus says these familiar yet powerful words,

“Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.”

These two quotes point us to the value not just of life but of “living”. And if truly “living” supersedes relationships, education, work, money, taxes, etc. I think we need to answer for ourselves, what does this mean or look like in our lives? 

I’d love to generate some ideas or examples of what this looks like on the blog so please comment below.

Who do you dislike?

So you want to be like Jesus… it might be beneficial for each of us to think about who we dislike and why. Jean Vanier helps us in his book “Becoming Human.” Here are a few quotes to ponder.

“… not all of our dislikes about people are groundless. There are those who belittle us. There are others who awaken latent fears. Still others make us feel anxious and uneasy. Some people want to possess us, so we feel constrained in their presence. Others appear as rivals in some domain or another. All of these various dislikes have one thing in common: they spring from the perception of danger to our sense of self… We may not be imprisoned in anything as strong as hate, but our likes and dislikes create equally high walls of prejudice. Behind them we can act as if other do not exist, or as if they do not belong to our common humanity.”

“Dislike can grow to annoyance; annoyance can blossom into anger; anger can turn to hatred. We have to be careful not to let the seeds of dislike grow and multiply. The words of Jesus and of other spiritual masters apply even to those mildest of negative feelings, our dislikes. To become truly free, to work for unity and peace, we have to work at all these relationships that cause us pain and dis-ease.”