What is Evangelism?

"Evangelism is not a making of proselytes; it is not persuading people to make a decision; it is not proving that God exists, or making a good case for the truth of Christianity; it is not inviting someone to a meeting; it is not exposing the contemporary dilemma, or arousing interesting in Christianity; it is not wearing a badge saying "Jesus Saves"! Some of these things are right and good in their place, but none of them should be confused with evangelism. To evangelize is to declare on the authority of God what he has done to save sinners, to warn men of their lost condition, to direct them to repent, and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." - John Cheesman

"For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life." - 2 Corinthians 2:15-16

Emergency Change in Bus Pick-Up Location

View Larger Map

Pick-Up will be near UMDNJ this Sunday
Sunday April 17

Due to the half-marathon race this Sunday and the subsequent closed roads, the pick-up location for Busch Campus this Sunday only will be changed to the following location:

Pick-Up Location for This Sunday

Also, we will have individual cars pick everyone up as opposed to the usual bus. The schedule will remain the same, meaning we will still try to leave campus at 8:45, so try to make it on time. If you need special arrangements for pick-up or the return trip, please send an email to r8@rccc.org. Spread the word!

R8 Women's Time Reflection

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I know I did. For those that came to the R8 Retreat, I hope you were blessed by the sermons, discussions and fellowship. For the ladies, we wrestled with a very difficult topic. For many of you, it was the first time you had heard about egalitarian versus complementarian. I pray that I did the topic justice and that you were able to grasp the theological concepts behind the two viewpoints. Most of all, I pray that you continue to wrestle with what the scriptures says about the biblical womanhood. Feel free to ask me any questions at R8, phone call or an email.

I wrestled with the topic for many years, fluctuating back and forth with what I wanted and God's perfect design and plan for us. Below is an article taken from the Desiring God website, written by Wendy Alsup on complementarianism.

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/confessions-of-a-conflicted-complementarian

Pray For Japan

excerpt from: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/japan-sovereignty-and-mercy

Japan’s 8.9 magnitude earthquake—the biggest one to ever strike Japan—echoes the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.

In response, John Piper wrote an article titled “Tsunami, Sovereignty, and Mercy.” The essence of his main points are the same, slightly modified for Japan’s context:

1. Satan is not ultimate, God is.
2. Even if Satan caused the earthquake in Japan, he is not the decisive cause of the deaths, God is.
3. Destructive calamities in this world mingle judgment and mercy.
4. The heart that Christ gives to his people feels compassion for those who suffer, no matter what their faith.
5. Christ calls us to show mercy to those who suffer, even if they do not deserve it.

Read Piper’s whole article.

And please pray for Japan.

A Glorious Moment in Church History

A quote from Martin Luther, taken from The Unquenchable Flame by Michael Reeves.

"At last, by the mercy of God, meditating day and night, I gave heed to the context of the words, namely, 'In it the righteousness of God is revealed, as it is written, "He who through faith is righteous shall live."' There I began to understand the righteousness of God is that by which the righteous lives by a gift of God, namely by faith. And this is the meaning: the righteousness of God is revealed by the gospel, namely, the passive righteousness with which merciful God justifies us by faith, as it is written, He who through faith is righteous shall live.' Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates."

- Martin Luther

R8 Canceled Due to Inclement Weather

Tonight's regularly scheduled R8 will not be meeting due to inclement weather...

[...baby Jesus is crying.]