Tuesday= FUN DAY

We’re going tubing!

This Tuesday, July 5^th, we taking a 6 hour tube trip down Blackwater river and it’s going to be a blast!

Interested? Here’s the details:

Who – All 6-12 graders.

When – Tuesday, July 5. Meet at the church at 7:30 and we’ll provide transportation to Munson. We HAVE to be on the river by 9:00 so we’ll be pulling out of here by 7:45 at the latest. If you’re late, you’ll have to get yourself to Munson on your own!! We will return to the church by 5:00 that afternoon.

How Much – Only $15 per person (you can make a check out to Hillcrest or just bring cash).

What Else – Bring a sack lunch. We’ll provide drinks (water and soda) and will have a cooler to keep your lunch in until we eat. Don’t bring your own cooler unless you plan on renting an extra tube for it ($9 fee).

We’re still looking for a few more adults to join us so if you’re interested hit me up! We’ll pay for your trip, but you have to make your own sandwich  (Jace and I are no good in the kitchen)

So – you comin’?!

Theology Thursday: Is Hell a real place?

If I was given a blank sheet of paper and asked to portray Hell, I would immediately begin decorating the paper with flames of fire. In the middle of the fire would be a stick figure with horns and a pointy tail. Sitting on a throne and holding a trident in his right hand, he would rule over Hell with a menacing grin and occasional evil laugh. His subjects (other stick figures because I am a terrible artist) come out of the flames with speech bubbles exclaiming words of pain and regret.

I think this is the picture that most of us get in our heads when we think of Hell. But where do these thoughts and images come from? Are they biblical? While it may be easy to draw and understand the picture I described above, I think it falls short of explaining the great amount of questions that come along with the doctrine of Hell. Once we start talking about Hell, we find ourselves with questions not only about the nature of eternal punishment – Is Hell a real place or only a state of being? – but also questions concerning the nature of God Himself – How can a loving God send people to Hell?

Hell is a difficult thing to discuss. For this reason, I think many of us settle with the simple images and thoughts we gathered somewhere back in childhood and avoid understanding the deeper issues and questions about Hell. However, I think it’s extremely important to push past the discomfort and wrestle with the various questions the doctrine of Hell raises. Why? For me, there are three simple reasons:

1. One’s understanding of Hell shapes how you see your mission and purpose as a Christian, how you see the world, and how you see God.
2. When people question you about your faith as a Christian, questions about Hell WILL come up. I guarantee it.
3. The Bible talks about it, so we should too!

Well, those are just a few of my thoughts as we approach the discussion this Thursday. But since I am far from being an expert on the topic, I want to see all of you there and hear what you are thinking! So PLEASE come and hang out with us from 11:00-1:00pm on Thursday. Jace and David will be cooking up some burgers and brats, so we will have great food AND great conversation! What more could you want? Come ready with questions as we all seek to deepen our understanding of our faith and apply it to the way we live our lives for the sake of Christ and the gospel.

See you Thursday!!

Grace