These were wise words by the ancient philosopher, and filtered through a biblical worldview Christians are called to use their days resting and recreating with intentionality as they work their jobs as image-bearers of God. There is rest in God, and joy in God, but no express “me time”. God will indeed give and grant us rest and peace and relaxation as He see fit within the context of Jesus-centered lives. We are not religious people giving a portion of our time to church and community to warrant our weekends and goofing off; we are God’s people designed to bring him glory in our playtime and hobbies that truly lets us live in the manner we were created for, which ultimately brings true happiness.

Turning to rest or entertainment as your comfort (or escape), apart from relationship with Christ, is idolatrous. Entertainment is not evil. Webster’s definition defines two postures toward entertainment: one is “diversion” and the other is “engagement”. Christians should engage life with discernment, and this means both the people they talk to as well as the media they consume. To allow things like hobbies to serve as diversion seems at odds with what we profess about joy and hope and satisfaction in this life though Jesus Christ. A Christian is called to find opportunities to reflect God in rest and recreation.

Colossians 3
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

1 Cor. 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:23-24
“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

Assess existing hobbies and areas of life focus:
• Does it glorify God?
• Does it reveal God the Father, Son or Spirit?
• Does it build up (edify) others?
• Does it lead to cross-talk?
• Does it lead to thanking Jesus and speaking his name?
• Is it the “best use of time”?

Last question – ARE YOU HONEST, or do these help you rationalize?

Ephesians 5:15
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time…

God calls us to live counter-cultural lives wherein we are not “working for the weekend”, or putting in “time with God” apart from “time in culture”. In John 17, Jesus calls his disciples to be IN but not OF the world. At Mars Hill, we encourage our members to be in local festivals, art, culture, theater, places of assembly, thirdplaces, hot spots, etc. and be students of the culture – film, sports, poetry, and more, familiar in the same way the apostle Paul was in Athens when he preached in Acts 17. We do not create a Christian ghetto, but interact with our community and the many who populate it that don’t belong to Jesus. Bearing all this in mind, we should assess our areas of cultural engagement and determine how God is calling us to glorify him, build others up, and point everyone toward the Savior we serve.

Listen by clicking the image above, or visit the Mars Hill Church Lake City YouTube page HERE.

For Pastor Mark Driscoll’s recent sermon dealing with the womb and God’s work in creating life, click here.

Pastor James attended with a friend and hit The Ram in the U-District afterward to listen and talk with some atheist acquaintances, and shares his thoughts on Dawkins’ honesty, logical extensions of atheism, matters of compassion, and the heart of our city.

Listen to the weekly preview by clicking the image above, or visit the
Mars Hill Church Lake City YouTube page HERE.

Listen to the weekly preview by clicking the image above, or visit the
Mars Hill Church Lake City YouTube page HERE.

FOLLOW UP:
For info about Film and Theology, Gran Torino click here.
For info about the Midweek Church Service, click here.

Listen to the weekly preview by clicking the image above, or visit the
Mars Hill Church Lake City YouTube page HERE.

For more information on Mars Hill’s 13th anniversary services, click here.

Click here for more information on our ladies training day.

For details on the membership/doctrine class, click here.

I spoke with founder Mark Joseph and his vision is to see Christians interacting with the rest of our city at this event, and he doesn’t want money to be an issue. His vision of knowing our culture and loving our city is not unlike the vision of Mars Hill Church. Showing films like Lord Save us from your Followers and other selections has got the attention of local atheists and various affinity groups within our city, and it’s a perfect opportunity to be a city within our city, engaging culture side by side with it. It starts Friday at 7pm and Saturday at 11am.

This is the perfect environment for students and missional Christians to bring friend that love Jesus and those who don’t and create opportunities for discussion on spirituality, film and Jesus. OR you can simply come yourself, enjoy provocative film, and be sociable. The directors of almost ALL the films will be there for Q&A. It’s a good chance to be involved and show support upstream as big guns like Hollywood producer Ralph Winter and other Christians influential in the Hollywood community support this, including some friends I know and veteran Mars Hill guys who’ve moved to LA to influence the culture.

http://www.damah.com/marshill

Here is the link (it also has times and schedule), and Mars Hill churchgoers are free to use this link – share it, put it on Facebook, Tweet it, email it to friends, have at it! My wife and I and several Mars Hill friends will be there all weekend – the Downtown Campus is even supplying volunteers to help take tickets and photograph the event. Mars Hill is already involved and you can be a part of it. Hope to see you there.

The answer involves unity, replication, doing church as a team, and humble recognition of finitude. Pastors aren’t superheroes, they are appointed by God to do their jobs with wisdom. When we jump to the assistance of members who’ve identified themselves as people on mission with Mars Hill, committed to live out the heart of Jesus as a big family working together to bless our visitors and our city, we are multiplying our impact on those who aren’t members, those who love Jesus and those who don’t. By investing in our members, we’re blessing those committed to blessing others who are on the same page with us theologically and practically.

Membership is very important, explained more fully HERE. To become a member, you can go through an automated, faceless online process through The City, self-regulating, self-motivating, and setting in motion the steps to understand who we are, what we believe, and what we ask of Mars Hill members. However, you know as well as I do that sometimes that creates a disconnect, plays to our weaknesses, and dodges real face-to-face connection with the congregants you’re preparing to call family.

With that in mind, we’re offering a more interactive track with three Sunday afternoon meetings this fall to go through our Doctrine and walk with pastors and members through these steps. Our Doctrine Class will take brief clips explaining what we believe and then allow you to interact with pastors to address questions and concerns. It will also give you time to meet different members of the campus and our leaders and connect in meaningful community and service.

Join us for DOCTRINE days October 11, November 8, and December 13 from 2pm – 4pm. Bring your Bibles or get a free one from us. Refreshments will be provided.

The Core Gathering starts October 14, the first Wednesday following Mars Hill’s 13th anniversary, at the Lake City Campus of Mars Hill Church.

Ever since Acts 2 captured a vivacious glimpse of first century believers, people have met corporately in public spaces to worship Jesus and also in homes to fellowship and grow together in smaller groups, for the purpose of glorifying God and working together to proclaim him to others in word and deed. It even suggests the early Christians met “daily in the temple courts”. Public worship was not relegated to one day of the week.

Traditionally, but not exclusively, Christians adopted a method of gathering on the first day of the week for the public reading of scripture, song, preaching, communion, and fellowship. Meeting together in homes became a staple of other days of the week. While there is nothing wrong with this model (it’s traditionally done Sunday in keeping with the day of Jesus’ resurrection) the question remains: is it the best, or only, way of living in the time and place God has determined for us?

Time is perhaps our most prized commodity as a fast-paced western culture, perhaps to many even more than their money (though the two go hand-in-hand). Weekends are prized for activities, hobbies, cultural engagement, camping, film, outdoor ventures and more. To think someone with no interest, or marked disinterest – in God would give up their highest prized day, or hours, to join us in hearing about Jesus seems less than likely. If we are to be involved in their areas of culture, and if they might come and join us to see why we gather regularly for worship, in what way might we rearrange our lives to worship gathered and scattered? The following questions easily spring to mind…

How might the midweek service be different from Sunday Services?

From Core gathering to our official launch, we will leverage those interested to help build the ethos and facets of this service. Like all our Sunday Services, we will follow the Sunday preaching of Pastor Mark Driscoll with occasional live preaching by Campus Pastors at all campuses. There will be music worship and communion. We already plan to have an open door policy at 6pm for sharing meals together and building community before the service begins at 7pm. When it ends at 8:30, plans for post-service gatherings at local hotspots are a distinct possibility for discussion and application. As it is a late evening service, there are no plans for Children’s Ministry/childcare at this time, which means the demographic will largely consist of singles, married without kids, and those with older/adult children.

When might the half-curious accept an invitation?

Asking a non-Christian to skip the Sunday football game, or Monday night football, or television’s most coveted Thursday night programming slots, to come and check out your church gathering may not be the best way to engage them with the gospel. Wednesday night is not a big night for dates, going out on the town, parties, etc. and is typically a lower traffic and activity night. If you have an unchurched or ex-churched friend who might respond to ANY invitation, they might come to hear the gospel on Wednesday night. Also, churchgoers that have bad theology or sit under unbiblical preaching, or simply aren’t fed and growing, might come on a night that isn’t the Sunday they soak up lies and half-truths at another “church”. The midweek service is an all-new occasion to expose those God is drawing to the gospel, particularly those in a culture where working Sunday may even be a current block to attending with you.

How might we rearrange our weekend for mission?

Congratulations, your Sunday is free and clear… for mission, not mischief. With a corporate gathering midweek, Sunday is now open to all-new possibilities, as well as Saturday, that could include one or a combination of, the following:

Serving at the church in a FULL service capacity (Children’s Ministry, Security, something where you are unable to receive the preaching or join in music worship and communion)

Intentionally creating mixed occasions of Christians and non-Christians out in culture (movie outings, sports, pub hangouts, affinity groups for writers, gamers, etc.)

Creating a regular, recurring open-home event that invites Christians and non-Christians. The hospitality of the home, and reality that some of you hit church on Wednesday night, is the relational ground that might draw others closer to relationship with you, your church, and ultimately Jesus.

When will you meet as a Community Group?

If the corporate gathering is midweek, when is the BEST time to gather as Christians for accountability, fellowship of believers, and praying/planning to engage non-Christians? Could this be Saturday morning? Wednesday AFTER the service? Both? Discussion of the sermon could ensue directly after, and regular gatherings of just believers could happen at better spots during the week as well, deepening community.

In closing, a midweek service is not a “better” way to be the church in Seattle or likely anywhere. However, the addition provides an equal opportunity for worship, fellowship and mission that will likely open the door for a whole other demographic of believers and not-yet-believers. For those who can embrace it, I believe Jesus will allow us to embrace a whole new slice of His people that He is drawing unto Himself.

Those interested in being part of the core should email lakecity@marshillchurch.org to get in the information loop. Everyone is welcome to attend the midweek gathering October 14th, 7pm at the Lake City campus. Pastors will be there with open doors at 6pm and you’re welcome to bring a meal and eat with us and pray for what God is doing in Northeast Seattle and beyond.

Image-bearing is not done individually. God is Triune – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and the people He made in his image and likeness were not created to image individually. We were created to image facets of God’s story and glory, joined together in such a beautiful formation that we shine light brighter than the facets of a diamond. God is multi-faceted, and so are we to be in God-glorifying community.

This is not community that simply hangs out, eats meals, laughs together and pats each other on the back because they worship the same God. Jesus washed his disciples’ filthy feet, yet many Christians don’t even lift a finger for those outside their own household, beyond offering therapeutic advice during the obligatory hour of “bible study time” and promising you’ll “pray for ‘em”. Many Christians congratulate themselves for the half-hour of service they provide every other week… as if they’re doing their church, and God, some kind of big favor.

At our campus, your pastors see many Christian husbands and dads thinking like individuals, satisfying their role as image-bearer by serving their wife and children, instead of thinking like the leader of an image-bearing household and seeking how to lead their families into participating in the story of God.

Christian community sees a corporate worship service as a time to grow through worshipful service. Christian community comes together during the week to really pursue deep relationship… not for the end goal of deep relationship, but partnership in the gospel for the purpose of doing mission together. Before we look at mission next week, we have to repent of our enculturated idolatry that keeps us from true community that can image God to this city.

Right click HERE to download or stream the sermon below.

As God incarnate – the perfect, sinless, Son of God – Jesus imaged our Father God perfectly. He pointed to our genesis as image-bearers, our role since the dawn of creation, and how we have distorted that image, perverted it, and stained it with self-serving sin. The importance of images, and our responsibility as God’s image-bearers, appears throughout scripture from Genesis to Revelation.

How easily we lose our identity, hide our identity, selfishly seek to redefine it and put ourselves at the center of the story. How easily do we despair over life because we have sourced our identity in what we do, what we’re hoping to do, what’s been done to us, who we know, or how much we know.

In this message we will look at God’s story, our place in it, and how the scriptures reveal God’s heart and commands regarding imaging. We’ll also look at Jesus, and one disciple who found His identity in Jesus, so that each of us can see a vivid, story-formed connection of how Jesus defines us, refines us, unites us, and brings us into relationship with God.

Right click HERE to download or stream the sermon below.