It's gorgeous outside and definitely starting to feel like spring. This is rather appropriate as SPRING BREAK is next week. And you are totally psyched, right? Maybe just a little?

Well, even if some people are heading out of town earlier on in the week, we wanted to have something fun for those of you who haven't left yet. Last year, this same Friday before break, we had a Disney movie night. You know, stirring up a little childhood nostalgia. Well, we might make this a tradition, because it's happening again this year. 

We'll spend the evening laughing and watching movies that we haven't seen since we were ten (...or  +10); it's good fun. Feel free to bring friends that are still in town and plan to meet over at Bellehaven at 7pm. Bring any movies you want to watch, Disney only of course, and some snacks to munch on. And, be prepared for an intensely complicated movie choosing process. Really, it's extreme.

Ok. Enjoy the warmth outside, your last few classes, Disney movies and have a fantastic break!

(by Braden Gogel)

As I prepare for marriage (woohoo!), a number of people have encouraged me to carefully examine the way that I address sin – including sin that isn’t mine. When you’re married, it seems, your spouse is sure to become, after yourself, the biggest sinner you know. Now that doesn’t mean that they are any more sinful than the other people around you. When you know someone that intimately and spend all your free time with them, you are going to encounter their sin.

This post isn’t about marriage or romantic relationships. I’m not going to share tips for first dates or first arguments. I’m going to talk about sin and how we need to address it when we see it in other people.

Matthew 7:1-5 says: “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

We live in an “open minded” culture that is accepting of everyone and everything – so long as you do not offend anyone. But since Christianity, in calling sinners to repent (and thus condemning sin), tends to be offensive, Christians often find themselves looking for ways to fit more closely with the culture. We see the first verse in this passage, then, and think, “Aha! I don’t have to call people out when I see them sinning!” Wrong. Sorry folks, there are no excuses to be found here.

When we see a speck in our brother’s eye, we should want to remove it. Everyone knows that having a speck in your eye is unpleasant.  First your eye waters, then it gets irritated, which makes it water more, which blurs your vision, which causes you to rub your eye, making it more irritated, making it water more until finally, the blasted thing is removed. Now the speck in this passage represents sin. Sin causes pain and damage (separation from God), just as a stubborn speck can cause pain and damage to our eye. Additionally, it’s often easier for a friend to see a speck in your eye than it is for you to see it, just as can be the case with sin. We often feel the effects of our speck without recognizing the speck. If we could see it, we would remove it!

So let’s revisit that first verse: “Judge not, that you be not judged.” We can’t use this as an excuse to ignore sin in the lives of others. If that were Jesus’ intention the meaning of the verse would be, “Don’t take the painful speck out of your brother’s eye or he might remove yours and you will all be better off.”  That would be ridiculous! It would contradict God’s character and His will for us as He reveals it throughout the Bible.

What this passage is actually addressing is the manner in which we go about removing the painful speck from our brother’s eye. We all have specks, and many of us carry a greater burden – a log. That log is self-righteousness, and it makes us completely unable to remove the speck from our brother’s eye. Instead of delicately removing his hindrance, we blinding poke at eye and knock him silly with our own sin.  It’s not only unhelpful, but can often be harmful.

Take some time today and think about how you address sin when you see it in other’s lives. Do you point it out gently and with grace, recognizing that they may not see it themselves?  Or are you annoyed that they don’t see their sin; sin that you, in your superior holiness, put to death long ago?  Do you pity them in their pain? Or parade your freedom before them so they “know” what they are missing?

God has dealt graciously with us, sending Christ to bear our sin on the cross before we even recognized our sin. Let us, in the same way, deal graciously with our brother. The next time you set out to help someone see their sin, be sure to cut your timber first.

(by Lane Bowman)

Mauled at Mackey, was the headline for today's IDS newspaper coverage of the IU vs. Purdue men's basketball game in West Lafayette. While it's no surprise the Hoosier's lost this battle, even with Purdue's star forward, Robbie Hummel, out with an injury, it's still pretty disappointing. My friend put it this way, "It's sad that the basketball team has come to how I feel about football season: the only thing that matters is if we can beat Purdue." With that dream crushed, there's not much else to look forward to. The only thing left is to hope for a better basketball season next year.  

It's likely that you understand this attitude about IU basketball, especially if you're a Cubs fan or an enthusiast for anything else that seems doomed to fail. Why? Because even if you're not a sports fanatic or political party supporter, you live life here on this earth. And there are many things that disappoint us, things we hoped for but didn't get, plans we had that went awry. But knowing that God is the sovereign Lord of all things, and purposes all things for the good of those who love Him, gives us real hope—though all our earthly hopes fail.

Recently, I read a biography on the life of John Calvin—a pastor and reformer who faced persistent illness throughout his life. He didn't eat much because of his condition, sometimes spent weeks or months with severe symptoms, and yet, he labored diligently through it all. We have volumes and volumes of Bible commentaries, masses of written letters—and that's not to mention the vast civil, political, and religious reforms he led throughout the town of his residence, Geneva, because... why? He had a vibrant, satisfying life here and now? Nope. He writes at one point that he would rather die a hundred deaths than face the day. So what kept this man, whose earthly life was filled with trouble, (and I've mentioned only the least of it), so productive and fruitful in this life?  

It was the hope of heaven. After summarizing our vain love and longing for this world, he writes:

To counter this evil the Lord instructs his followers in the vanity of the present life by continual proof of its miseries. Therefore, that they may not promise themselves a deep and secure peace in it, he permits them often to be troubled and plagued either with wars or tumults, or robberies, or other injuries. That they may not pant with too great eagerness after fleeting and transient riches, or repose in those which they possess, he sometimes by exile, sometimes by barrenness of the earth, sometimes by fire, sometimes by other means, reduces them to poverty, or at least confines them to a moderate station. That they may not too complacently take delight in the goods of marriage, he either causes them to be troubled by the depravity of their wives or humbles them by evil offspring, or afflicts them with bereavement. But if, in all these matters, he is more indulgent toward them, yet, that they may not either be puffed up with vainglory or exult in self-assurance, he sets before their eyes, through diseases and perils, how unstable and fleeting are all the goods that are subject to mortality.   

Then only do we rightly advance by the discipline of the cross, when we learn that this life, judged in itself, is troubled, turbulent, unhappy in countless ways, and in no respect clearly happy... For this we must believe: that the mind is never seriously aroused to desire and ponder the life to come unless it be previously imbued with contempt for the present life.1

Our hope is not here; it is in heaven. We will only find trouble from this life, that we might look to the one to come. After all, "who hopes for what he sees?"

 ________

1, John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, edited by John T. McNeill, pages 712-713

This is another reminder to everyone that there is a room change for The Fold tonight. We will be in the Radio-Television building, room 251. It is right next to the Fine Arts building near the Wells Library.  We will be hearing from Andrew Henry who will be continuing our study through Ephesians.  So, make sure you DO NOT go to Woodburn 101, unless you want to be late :)  See you there!

Check out the sermon from this past Sunday's service at CGS.  Pastor Tim Bayly delivered a sermon entitled "Through the Foolishness of the Message Preached" from 1 Corinthians 1:17-24.  You can listen to it and/or download it here:

http://www.shepherdchurch.com/audio/2010/february/28/through-foolishness...

Hey everyone, this is the first official post for Mike's Music Monday's.  In short, MMM will be a weekly blog post of a link to a song, album, or other musical interest that will come from myself or someone else from CNCF leadership.  The music will either be relevant to something happening on campus, something going on in the world, or just something that will be of encouragement and benefit to you as college students on campus everyday.  So, I hope you all are excited, as I sure am!

For this first week, I am posting a song called "Hold On" by Christian rap artist Flame from his album Our World Redeemed.  The context leading up to this song is that Flame has recently come in contact with an old friend who has recently come to faith in Christ.  Shortly after, the friend is experiencing hardships in his daily Christian walk.  So, this song was written as if it were to a young believer who is struggling and seeking growth in his walk with Christ.  This song offers a lot of basic, foundational truths of the Christian faith as well as encouragements to the believer. Check it out!