“No mere mortals.”

I hope you don’t get tired of me quoting C.S. Lewis. Problem is, he’s so quotable… and here’s another:

“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities… that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations — these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”

- C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Genesis 1:26 is one of the key verses in all Scripture concerning our identity as human beings. We’ll talk about that verse in detail today… and we will consider it in light of John 1:14.

In our “brokenness,” one of the most insidious “cancers” of our souls is to view both Jesus and ourselves with utter inadequacy. (I’m not talking about viewing ourselves with pride; I’m talking about understanding that all humans are made in the image of the Creator, Sustainer, Redeemer, and Recreator of the Universe. Feel that way? Believe you can be Light in the darkness. In Christ, we must.

PRAYER GATHERING WEDNESDAY @ 8:00

Partners in Prayer for Advocate Bromenn/October: Emergency Room

Fall Festival!!!
Our annual fun-filled foray into the country will be Sunday, October 24 @ 5:00 p.m. If you’ve been before, you need no arm twisting because you know this is a great time. If you haven’t been before, grab some friends and get ready to be “countrified.”

The 2010 Annual Young Life Fundraising banquet is taking place on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 5pm at Second Pres. Church (313 N. East St. – downtown Bloomington).  There is not cost to join us for the banquet but please send an email (carybhendricks@gmail.com) or call (309-310-4827) if you would like an invitation mailed!  This year’s theme is “You Were Made For This”.  Learn about Young Life/WyldLife in McLean County and how “You Were Made For This”!  www.mcleancounty.younglife.org

Da Bears @ Da Bob’s @ 7:00
It’s a primal thing, we admit, but sometimes it’s just good to be with the guys and shout at the TV and fist bump. Tonight’s the night . Bob V.’s.

Islam. Muslims.
“Over there… and right here.”
Missionary to Lebanon John MacLean will share with us in October.

Light, Light, Invincible Light!

“Lighten” your load. Trust Jesus.

I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. – John 12:46

Could it be that one of the most overwhelming revelations we shall come to when we see Christ face-to-face is that because we will finally know Him for Who He is and will fully trust His complete and utter love and sovereignty over the universe, we will then know that we never should have given an inch to fear? Will we then realize that we need never have doubted that light would dispel darkness?

Well, such may be so, but in the present we need strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow. The Darkness is real and seems overwhelmingly so, at times. The Chaos is real and seems unconquerable, at times. The Emptiness is real and seems unable to be filled, at times.

John’s Gospel repeatedly shines the Unquenchable Light of Christ that dispels the darkness, orders the chaos to cease, and fills the void of emptiness.

If Jesus is exaggerating or merely trying to impress his listeners, then his “light claims” are brutal and he can’t and shouldn’t be trusted. As C. S. Lewis says, a man who makes such claims falsely is on a par with a man who thinks he is a poached egg.

But we know differently, don’t we? We don’t just nod our assent to these claims of his; rather, with the Power of His Resurrection and His Life-giving Spirit living in us, we stake our very existence, both temporal and eternal, on the validity of his claims. He says he is the Light of the World, the Victor over Chaos, and the Substance of all our Holy Hopes. He says we must “believe.” And we say, “We believe, Lord. Please help our unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)

PRAYER GATHERING WEDNESDAY @ 7:00

Partners in Prayer

for Advocate Bromenn/October: Emergency Room

Fall Festival!!!

Our annual fun-filled foray into the country will be Sunday, October 24 @ 5:00 p.m. If you’ve been before, you need no arm twisting because you know this is a great time. If you haven’t been before, grab some friends and get ready to be “countrified.”

The 2010 Annual Young Life Fundraising banquet is taking place on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 5pm at Second Pres. Church (313 N. East St. – downtown Bloomington).  There is not cost to join us for the banquet but please send an email (carybhendricks@gmail.com) or call (309-310-4827) if you would like an invitation mailed!  This year’s theme is “You Were Made For This”.  Learn about Young Life/WyldLife in McLean County and how “You Were Made For This”!  www.mcleancounty.younglife.org

Islam. Muslims.
“Over there… and right here.”

Missionary to Lebanon John MacLean will share with us in October.

Tonight is Men’s Night @ Harvey’s
Come enjoy a flick, some food, and the friendship as we launch another year of iron sharpening iron. Directions in foyer.

Sermon: September 19, 2010

Listen to the sermon below from September 19, 2010:

[audio:jacobswell_dberry_091910.mp3]