Foundry:

Historically, a foundry was a location where tools and weapons were forged and fashioned. It was a place where iron would sharpen iron, which corresponds to the biblical concept of community (Prov. 27.17).

As Mars Hill¹s one-day educational program, Foundry fosters community and spiritual refinement through one-day (Saturday morning) classes.
Participants can take the content beyond the classroom setting using an optional study guide, provided for further individual study, family devotions, and/or Community Group discussion. Foundry is open to members and church attendees.

EVENT:

If you are interested in better understanding Jesus in the Old Testament, there¹s an important event on the Mars Hill calendar for you.

On October 6 at the Ballard Campus, a course called ³Emmaus Road: Seeing Christ in all of Scripture² will be offered.

Luke 24:27 ³And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself²

Just as Jesus taught the disciples on the Emmaus Road after His resurrection to see himself in the Old Testament, this class will lay the foundation of the overarching Biblical story, studying Jesus in the Old Testament and our role within God¹s story.

This Saturday seminar is a great opportunity to grow in your knowledge of Jesus and to gain a broader view and respect for the story of God found within the Old and New Testament. Come by yourself, with your Community Group, or with your family for this valuable teaching seminar.

Schedule for the day:

9:00-9:45 Big Picture Overview (Pastor Gary Shavey)

9:45-10:15 Seeing Christ in the Old Testament: Garden of Eden

through the Exodus (Deacon Greg Joines)

10:15-11:00 Seeing Christ in the Old Testament: Conquest through the

Church (Pastor Bill Clem)

11:15-12:00 Breakout:

Track A: Christ in the Wisdom Literature (Pastor Zack

Hubert)

Track B: Christ in the Psalms (Deacon Andrew Pack)

Track C: Christ in the Prophetic Literature (Deacon Wendy

Alsup)

12:00-12:30 Conclusion (Pastor Bill Clem)

Here¹s the link to register.

https://www.sporg.com/pom/registration?cmd=event_info&event_id=93902

By Mark Bergin

I enjoy community. I enjoy deep belly laughs from my ample midsection and running out of dining-room-table leaves and come-from-behind bocce ball victories. Being known is helpful, too a critical piece in pushing me to do Christianity for real, i.e., exposure, humility, repentance, etc.

But as is always the case in this cursed world, even good things can lead to ill in the hands of broken people. Community is no exception a painful reality made squarely evident in my life two weekends ago. There I was, vacationing on Anderson Island with my community group for our second annual summer getaway; temporarily relieved of parenting duties; surrounded by people I love, trust and am charged to shepherd; continually aware that a pile of meat lay marinating in a nearby refrigerator; and yet in grave danger of losing the rudder on my apparently not-so-sanctified ship.

The trouble started slowly, even innocently: a couple of beers here, a course joke there. The environment just felt so comfortable, so laissez-faire, so raw. And my tongue got loose. My standards relaxed. Nothing earth-shattering here, just an abuse of Christian liberty, an occasion for the flesh you know, the kind Saul of Tarsus expressly forbids.

Somehow, I’d managed to leave the more tender elements of my conscience behind on the mainland. Of course, they eagerly rejoined me upon my return, piling on conviction and shame as I drove off the Steilacoom ferry toward home. Pastor Scott Thomas didn’t help things that evening when he preached from Titus 3 on the admonition to not only do good but be good, leaving behind a life when “we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures.”

The thing is, it hadn’t felt like slavery in the moment; it had felt like freedom. And that’s the trouble with Christian liberty, especially among brothers. It’s in that rapture of mutual affection and earnest community that distinctions between the permissible and the beneficial are most easily blurred. Using up the dining-room table leaves may create space for belly laughs and marinated meat, but be on guard lest a roaring lion find room to pull up a chair.

One of my great joys in life is thinking.  I love to think about possibilities, about problems, about people and about dreams.  I always have (close at hand) paper or a digital device to record my various thinking trips.

I was recently thinking about what it means to be content as a Christian leader.  Should I be content with where I am in the scheme of things, or should I be ambitious to do more and have greater responsibility?  Should I be content with the amount of fruit I am seeing in my work with, and for, Jesus, or should I be asking for more and higher quality fruit?

When does contentment spiral downward and become complacency, sloth or mediocrity? And when does the desire for greater responsibility degenerate into selfish ambition which Paul clearly warns against “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit (”Philippians 2:3 -NIV).  Paul seems to encourage “ambition” in I Timothy 3:1 where he says, “The saying is trustworthy. If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. (ESV) ”

I personally want to find a healthy balance between going for broke, experiencing everything Jesus wants for me, reaching my full potential in Jesus and doing it all for the right reasons.  I neither want to be lazy in the name of contentment or greedy in the name of aspiration.

I know that The Message Bible is not a translation but a combination of translation, paraphrase  and commentary all rolled into one.  Having said that I still very much enjoy reading it and find that it resonates with me in fresh and creative ways.

 I was recently impressed with I Timothy 6: 6-9 (The Message) “A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God. Since we entered the world penniless and will leave it penniless, if we have bread on the table and shoes on our feet that’s enough. But if it’s only money these leaders are after, they’ll self-destruct in no time.” I was captured by the phrase, “but if it’s only money these leaders are after.” I prayerfully asked myself some questions along the lines of contentment and greed. What am I really after? Is it money? Is it position? Is it popularity, respect or results?  Is it to build God’s kingdom or to build my own kingdom?  Is it to really care for other people, or to use people to care for myself? What are my true motives? What am I Really after.really?

As you see, I have lots of questions. Maybe you can furnish some answers for me and others by offering your comments.