Jesse and Michael, thanks for having the vision to begin these conversations - both online and off - and for inviting me to join in.

A few Jesus questions for the day, arising from readings and reflections of recent days:

* Was Jesus born to die, or to show others how to live?

* Are we born in order to die and jump into eternity, or to live as Jesus did?

* Does belief in an afterlife make us secure, or does following Jesus shake loose our certainties?

Before I get caught up in the weekly rat race and forget to post, I'd like to wish everyone a very happy Rosh Hashana! Rosh Hashana, or "Jewish new year," begins tomorrow at sunset, and is one of the most holy days of the Jewish religious calendar. But, it is also an important day for Christians to remember, not only for its Old Testament significance, but also for what it can teach us about God's plan for humanity.

Rosh Hashana, which literally means the "head" or "beginning" of the year, is a beautiful holiday of new beginnings. Symbolically, the holiday commemorates the creation of the world, and one source indicates that "Jewish tradition sees everyone as being created anew at this time of year." ( http://judaism.about.com/od/roshhashana/a/shana_ten.htm) Observant Jews will often go down to a local river on Rosh Hashana to symbolically cast their "sins" into the water, which are sometimes represented by small pieces of paper or pieces of bread. This custom is called "tashlikh," and it is traditionally associated with a passage from Micah 7:18-20: "You will cast all of their sins into the depths of the sea."

But Rosh Hashana is also viewed as a day of judgement. On Rosh Hashana, it is believed that God opens the Book of Life and pronounces judgement for the coming year. The Book of Life is said to remain open throughout the ten days following Rosh Hashana, which are called the "Days of Awe." During this time, observant Jews will ask forgiveness for their sins and do good deeds, in the hopes of securing a more favorable judgement on Yom Kippur.

The most famous symbol of Rosh Hashana, however, is the shofar, or ram's horn. The shofar is blown much like a trumpet, and it is from this instrument that Rosh Hashana derives its other name - "The Feast of Trumpets." One hundred notes are sounded on the shofar during each day of the festival. While no Biblical reason is given for this practice, several theories have been advanced, including the idea that the sounding of the shofar marks a call to repentance, the coronation of God as King, or the wailing of God's people throughout the world.

In the New Testament, Paul beautifully connects all of these images and uses them to paint a picture of the believer's future state:

1 Corinthians 15:50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

The New Testament teaches that we are new creations in Christ. Rosh Hashana, then, looks ahead to the restoration of all things - the "new beginning" that we have found in Christ Jesus. This restoration begins at the personal level and extends outwards to include all of creation. The Festival of Trumpets, then, is a celebration for all of God's people, as we rejoice in the wonderful new work that God has begun among us - the creation of a new heavens and a new earth, starting right now with me and you.

Isaiah 65:17 "Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." 5He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

It's always exciting to see Christian brothers and sisters joining together in prayer for one another. This Wednesday, I shared a bit about our ministry with some of my friends at church, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. One of our church members, Jake Baker, asked the church to pray for our group, and I was humbled by the powerful prayer that he offered for us at the end our Bible study. It's great to know that we have people in our churches actively praying for us!

Please join me in praying for our area congregations and their work in the Gallatin Valley area.

Hope you like the video I posted.

Happy Sunday morning, everyone! I trust that you are blessed on this special day of worship.

I wanted to take a moment to update everyone on some of the exciting things that will be happening in the TrailBlazer Community during the next months. Please keep these projects in prayer as we move forward on this crazy adventure God is leading us on:

1) Weekly Bible Study: Starting next week (10/2), we will begin holding a weekly Bible study during our Thursday meeting at Wild Joe's. I'll bring the first message, and then we will begin a weekly rotation, with a different group member leading the discussion each week. Everyone is encouraged to participate by preparing a short message covering some aspect of Biblical teaching that they feel is important for the group to discuss. After every meeting, one of us will post a summary of the message on the blog, so that discussion can continue after the meeting closes.

2) TrailBlazer Prayer Chain: In the coming weeks, I would like to develop a "prayer chain" network for the TrailBlazer Community. The way it works is fairly simple: each member of the group will choose one day out of the week and commit to spending a half hour that day praying for the other members of the group. The idea is to have a constant rotation of people praying for one another. We will discuss this in greater detail on Thursday.

3) TrailBlazer Worship Service: It's still on the horizon :-) Please pray that God would help us to develop and organize an interdenominational worship service that would be honoring to Him and that would communicate His love to all in attendance. We will continue developing this project throughout the coming months.

I want to start off by thanking Jesse Ahmann and Pastor Michael Wainwright for inviting me as a contributor on this blog. It is an honor and a privilege. I was truly blessed when I came to Bozeman and visited their group. I expect great things coming out of Bozeman. I also hope to visit again soon.

The Power of The Gospel



There are many who preach about the Power of the Gospel yet often the gospel they preach about is not The Gospel. It seems to me often the gospel that is preached is that of a superficiality that promotes a certain powerlessness instead of offering people the Power of salvation.



Most often when I hear this other "gospel" I hear it taught as "getting saved from hell." This is not the same gospel that Jesus taught. In fact it demeans the True Gospel.



Jesus spoke of a Gospel... and taught a Gospel that seems almost lost in many churches today. This Gospel is "the gospel of the Kingdom." (Matt 4:23, 9: 35, Mat 24:14; Luke 4:24, 8:1,) This Gospel of the Kingdom is so much more than about my own personal salvation. It is bigger than my little kingdom.

If we do not look at the Gospel as more than about me, then we miss the overall glory. This Gospel is not "just" about "me". It is the gospel of the glory of Christ. It encompasses all that God is doing... meaning the regeneration or "renewal" of all things. (Matt 19:28)

Often I have heard some teach that the gospel is all about "getting saved from hell and then you get to go to heaven"... if that is all there is, then it does not seem to have that much power.

The Power is in the understanding of the magnitude that Salvation is in Christ Jesus. God has come in the Person of Jesus to set all things right... for God alone is Righteous.

The Power to save is the Power that God has to redeem and set all things right. To take back this lost world and reform it into His Son's image.

We need to turn from our little kingdoms and come the The Kingdom of God. It is that we live "in Christ" the King that we come to live in the Kingdom. We exchange out life for His and become dependant on Jesus for all things.

We have been given the keys to this Kingdom... We have been given all we need for Godliness in the Person of Jesus Christ. It is in the coming to understand how huge the Kingdom is and that all God has accomplished through Jesus that the Power of the Gospel can truly be seen. Once we see the bigger picture, we are free from the bondage of our own little kingdoms. The Power is in the surrender of our kingdom for His in all its glory.

Be blessed,
iggy