1 Pig Feeds 500!

Thursday April 17th, "authentic" hosted a pig roast for the tenants of Meadows Crossing, an off-campus housing complex for GVSU students.

We had a great turnout of roughly 500 students who came down to enjoy the free food and the beautiful weather. This is just another example of how we can serve the students in our community.

All that good food! Pork Sandwiches, Baked Beans, Chips, Cookies, and Water.

Oh, and finally the table decoration!

Let us feed you!

Don't be a hypocrite...






...be authentic.







authentic

authentic e-news (Intimacy)

God has designed us as our Creator and is changing, shaping, molding us to become more like Christ. Scripture tells us to work out our salvation…not that we have to work FOR our salvation, but now that we are saved we have to WORK to become His disciples. The role of the church is to help you in that process of becoming a mature and complete disciple. That is why I feel God leading me to guide you (and me) in that process.

Our desire is for you to grow in your relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My prayer is that through these devotionals and your study time with God, He will speak to your hearts and continue to shape you into the disciple that He is calling you to be.

To start our study this week we will look at the first mark of a disciple, Intimacy. A Disciple of Jesus loves God by pursuing the knowledge of God and intimacy with God. A disciple of Christ also is eagerly and regularly involved in prayer, the study of God’s Word and other spiritual disciplines, leading to a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ which is growing ever deeper.

Devotions
Below is a break down of scripture and some questions that relate to the scripture. I recommend reading the scripture and then asking your self the questions that follow. Think about your responses or jot them down, and read the scripture again. After this you can think about what other questions come to mind. Let God lead you from there and go where He wants to take you.

Monday – Psalm 27 – Apply this Psalm to your life and make it your prayer this week.

Tuesday – Exodus 33: 12-23 – How can you relate this intimate experience Moses had with God to your life? Pray that God may reveal Himself to you in an intimate and personal way this week.

Wednesday – Philippians 3:4-11 – Where is your confidence? Think about who Paul was and what exactly he means when he considers it a loss for the sake of Christ? Who are you? Do you consider who you are a loss for the sake of Christ? (Surrender)

Thursday – Romans 12:1-8 – Are you being conformed to this world or are you being transformed by the renewing of your mind? What are your gifts and how are you using them for God’s glory?

Friday – Ephesians 1:3-14 – What does this tell you about God choosing you? What is His good and pleasing will for you? Are you fulfilling that will He predestined you for?

Saturday – John 17:20-27 – I know that we have done this twice last week, but it is the perfect place to end for this week. What is Jesus praying that you will do in this prayer? Will you do it? How?

Sunday – Spend your devotional time in prayer. There’s no such thing as too much prayer.

Challenge
The challenge section of this e-newsletter will be an area that I will encourage/challenge you to do something that maybe you wouldn’t normally do. It will almost always apply to the devotions for the week and taking something that we read and actually applying it to our lives. Application is extremely important in our growth to become more like Christ. If we claim to follow Him, then our actions need to resemble His. It’s not enough to just learn about Christ and gain head knowledge, but we need to imitate Christ in our words and deeds as well.

Most of us are great at praying when in a time of need. This week, try turning everything over to Christ in prayer…for things you normally can “handle” on your own. Be challenged to seek His input on every action and every breath of your life.

Please respond to me with anything that you would like to share about these devotionals or the challenge for the week. I would love to hear how these may be making a difference in your life. Also, forward these on to friends/family who may also enjoy them. If you would like to be added or removed from the mailing list please send an email to jhoppa@lighthouse-ministries.org

God Bless

authentic E-Newsletter for Jan...Week 1

This is a newsletter that I sent out to those who have been attending authentic...I am excited about it and thought that I would post it on here as well.

I would like to introduce you to this idea of sending you a weekly e-newsletter to help you grow in Christ. We are all on a journey to follow Christ in word and in deed. God has designed us as our Creator and is changing, shaping, molding us to become more like Christ. Scripture tells us to work out our salvation…not that we have to work FOR our salvation, but now that we are saved we have to WORK to become His disciples. The role of the church is to help you in that process of becoming a mature and complete disciple. That is why I feel God leading me to guide you (and me) in that process.

To start our study we will look at these six marks of a disciple, each one for the next six weeks in further depth. But here is a brief start to explain why I am providing this “do it yourself” devotional. Our desire is for you to grow in your relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My prayer is that through these devotionals and your study time with God, He will speak to your hearts and continue to shape you into the disciple that He is calling you to be.

Devotions
Below is a break down of scripture and some questions that relate to the scripture. I recommend reading the scripture and then asking your self the questions that follow. Think about your responses or jot them down, and read the scripture again. After this you can think about what other questions come to mind. Let God lead you from there and go where He wants to take you.

Monday – Intimacy – John 17:20-27 – Jesus’ prayer for YOU just before He was arrested. What is He praying for you to do? Make this your prayer this week.

Tuesday – Holiness – 1 peter 1:13-2:3 – What does it mean to be Holy? What does a Holy life look like?

Wednesday – Community – Colossian 3:12-17 – What has God forgiven you for? Who do you need to show that same grace towards and forgive for the wrong they have done to you? What does it mean to “put on love”?

Thursday – Servant hood – Luke 10:25-37 – Are you the priest, Levite, or Samaritan? Who do you pass by “on the other side”? How can you become more like the Samaritan?

Friday – Calling – Acts 1:1-8 – Where is your “Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria”? Do you possess the power of the Holy Spirit that Luke is writing about? What exactly is that “power”?

Saturday – Dependence – John 15:1-17 – Are you connected to the vine? Do you produce fruit that shows that you are connected to the vine?

Sunday – Re-read John 17:20-27 – This just blows my mind.

Challenge
The challenge section of this e-newsletter will be an area that I will encourage/challenge you to do something that maybe you wouldn’t normally do. It will almost always apply to the devotions for the week and taking something that we read and actually applying it to our lives. Application is extremely important in our growth to become more like Christ. If we claim to follow Him, then our actions need to resemble His. It’s not enough to just learn about Christ and gain head knowledge, but we need to imitate Christ in our words and deeds as well.

Be the “Samaritan” to someone this week. Go out of your way to serve someone you wouldn’t normally serve.

Please respond to me with anything that you would like to share about these devotionals or the challenge for the week. I would love to hear how these may be making a difference in your life. Also, forward these on to friends/family who may also enjoy them. If you would like to be added or removed from the mailing list please send an email to jhoppa@lighthouse-ministries.org

God Bless

What is your fear?

FEAR!!! That big word that creeps into everyone's life at some point and snuffs out our zeal, fire, and passion for giving God our all. So, what is it for you? What fear do you have that is holding you back from letting go? Or, from keeping you from taking that risk? What is keeping you from going where God wants you to go?

Some good questions, but let me change it a bit. Instead of thinking of fear as a negative thing, let me throw this out there. Here is a phrase that I saw this week, "If there is no fear in your life then you are not attempting anything great." There is some truth in that statement for sure. Scripture talks about fear more than anything else, and it says for us to NOT fear. Facing that fear and doing something great is far better than playing it safe and staying comfortable. Christian, we need to get out of the mind-set of being "conservative". There is nothing conservative about following Christ. We need to be bold, to do things differently than what we are even used to.

Fear can be devastating and I believe that we need to recognize the source of our fear. Do we fear doing something because it isn't "socially acceptable" or because it isn't the "norm". Remember, Jesus didn't fit into the "norm" either. Jesus healed on the sabbath, worked on the sabbath, and yet He was/is perfect. Don't let traditions keep you from following Christ. I challenge you to look outside that box that you have put Christ into.

What are you going to do that you have been holding back because of fear? Do something great regardless of the fear knowing and trusting in your Creator who will care for you and take care of your every need. Go ahead...Do it!!!

Hypocritical Christians

Are Christians hypocritical? That seems to be the perception of the "college-age" generation, and maybe even of all generations. I am currently reading a book called "UnChristian" by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. The book is a spring board from some research that was done by the "Barna Group".

Anyway, let me share with you some of the results that came from their research, and then let's talk about Christians being hypocrites. This is what the book says, "In virtually every study we conduct, representing thousands of interviews every year, born-again Christians fail to display much attitudinal and behavioral evidence of transformed lives. For instance, based on a study released in 2007, we found that most of the lifestyle activities of born-again Christians were statistically equivalent to those of non-born-again. When asked to identify their activities over the last thirty days, born-again believers were just as likely to bet or gamble, to visit a pornographic website, to take something that did not belong to them, to consult a medium or psychic, to physically fight or abuse someone, to have consumed enough alcohol to be considered legally drunk, to have used an illegal, nonprescription drug, to have said something to someone that was not true, to have gotten back at someone for something he or she did, and to have said mean things behind another person's back. No difference."

The book goes on to share that even in regards to "sexually inappropriate behavior" there is no difference between believer and non-believer. However, we (born-again Christians) are less likely to use profanity in public, and buy a lottery ticket. Maybe because of the image we need to portray! Although we did rise above the bar in one area...We were SLIGHTLY (and I emphasis "slightly") more like to help a poor or homeless person. Yeah for us!

Another study found that, "84% of non-Christians say they personally know at least one committed Christian. However, just 15% thought the lifestyles of those Christ followers were significantly different from the norm." So, are we hypocrites? Yes, absolutely! This is why we need to be authentic. We need to stop pretending that we are perfect and confess when we screw up, when we fall flat on our faces, and ask for forgiveness. Nobody really expects us to be perfect, so we need to take off our "Sunday morning smiles" and share our struggles and burdens. Then the church can be the church and the body of believers can hold each other up in prayer.

People can't accuse us of being hypocritical if we don't pretend to be someone that we are NOT! I realize that this isn't an end all to the whole hypocritical perception especially when we are called to be different than this world. The truth is that we shouldn't be engaged in those activities that this research shows...so, not only do we need to be honest about our faults but we also need to rise above our "flesh". We need to stop indulging in the cravings of the "flesh", and we can't overcome that on our own, but ONLY through the power of the Holy Spirit. If we take Galatians 2:20 to heart, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ live in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." When we surrender to "self", then we can live for Christ and not until then will the statistics change and show a transformed life. Give me your thoughts...

being authentic is the opposite of being a hypocrite.