This blog is a place to connect with the East Valley Bible Church family in Gilbert, AZ. Check out the articles, links, and information on upcoming events. Click here for more information about the Gilbert Area Ministry and me.
For years, great controversy has surrounded the University of Illinois and their mascot, Chief Illiniwek. As a proud U of I alum and former athlete, I was disappointed to hear that last week the Chief performed for the last time and will no longer be part of the university. Though I understand the arguments on both sides, I always appreciated what the Chief stood for and the tradition and honor that he brought to the school and athletic department. Below, I've posted a video of his last performance this past week.
Desiring God Ministries has recently begun a weekly podcast centered around John Piper's book, Don't Waste Your Life. The podcast will be short videos that challenge you and I not to waste our lives. Here's one that I think is especially important in our setting, where we are all SO very busy. It's called "Chaotic Desperation."
Amazing Grace, a movie about William Wilberforce releases nationwide this Friday. A trailer is below. Also, if you'd like to read about Wilberforce, check out John Piper's brief online book, Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce.
Well, it's official. I have the best wife on planet earth.
Sadly, we are spending Valentine's Day apart, as Molly left this morning for Ohio and the Big Ten Men's Swimming championship (where her brother Jacob is competing for Ohio State). But, as we drove to the airport, she told me that waiting back at home for me were two gifts under our bed that I was to open.
The first was a bag with all kinds of fruit-roll-ups, which I absolutely LOVE. Each one was wrapped in a note with something that Molly says she loves about me. She also has creatively placed these around the house and my office, so I have been finding them all day. How cool!
The second gift was a bag with an Xbox for me to play while she is gone (borrowed from her other brother). I love video games but never get to play them because I hope to stay married, and they would seriously impede most aspects of my life. But, with Molly out of town, what else is there to do? She also rented my favorite game for me, NCAA Football. So, needless to say, I'm happy as a pig in slop, which will probably be literally true after spending the next 5 days without her.
I love Molly. She is my true love. And today has proven that she is, without a doubt, the best wife in the world.
A song that has always really impressed me is Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire," which chronicles over 100 historical and cultural events, people, things, and places from 1949 to 1989. It's amazing that he can pack all of them into a five-minute song and still have a good tune to go with it. For more detail on the events, click here.
As I've listened recently to the song, the chorus especially jumps out to me: "We didn't start the fire / It was always burning since the world's been turning / We didn't light it, but we're trying to fight it." It reminds me that we live in a broken world, and everybody knows that things aren't how they should be. The only long-term answer is Jesus, and his people are called to work to extinguish suffering in the world around us. Though we're tempted to retreat from the world and the culture because of the pain and the dirt and the challenge, Jesus calls us to engage in the fight against evil and destruction until he comes again.
Below you'll find a good video that chronicles the events in the song.
Please join us Saturday, February 24th for the Gilbert Adult Night Out. It will be a chance to spend some "grown-up time" and to get to know other people from the community and church.
On-campus childcare is available, so register early by emailing Patti Zerr. Here's what the schedule looks like:
Adult Night Out Schedule
5:30-6:00pm
Drop Kids off at EVBC and come to the Conference Center
6:00-8:00pm
Dinner off campus...you make the plans. Go out as a couple or with new friends.
8:00pm
Return to EVBC Conference Center
8:00-9:00pm
Visit with friends and enjoy dessert
9:00pm
Pick up kids from childcare
Childcare is available and is $15 for the first child and $10 for each additional child (dinner will be provided for kids). Again, please register by February 21 to Patti Zerr.
I am thrilled to announce that audio from our weekly Men's Fellowship gatherings is now available online! Each week, we begin our meeting with a brief (15-20 min) teaching time to get the juices flowing--after all, it is 6:30 in the morning--followed by great fellowship and encouragement in small groups. Now you can catch up on what you missed (at least in the teaching), and you can do it a variety of ways:
2. Open iTunes, select "Advanced" on top menu, select "Subscribe to podcast...", enter the following code (http://www.evbc.org/evbc/Podcast/evbcGilbert.xml), select "OK"
For years, great controversy has surrounded the University of Illinois and their mascot, Chief Illiniwek. As a proud U of I alum and former athlete, I was disappointed to hear that last week the Chief performed for the last time and will no longer be part of the university. Though I understand the arguments on both sides, I always appreciated what the Chief stood for and the tradition and honor that he brought to the school and athletic department. Below, I've posted a video of his last performance this past week.
