I’m preaching tomorrow at a friend’s church, Steve McCoy, Doxa Fellowship in Woodstock, IL. Steve asked if we would come up, share our vision for The church in DeKalb, and preach this week at Doxa.

So, the sermon is done, and I’m looking forward to preaching it. I think the title I’m going to put on this sermon is “Leaving Behind the Travel Mug” (for you Puritan types it would be: Leaving Behind the Travel Mug: Building a Missionary Mindset From the Example of Our Lord – … – Who is Himself the Christ and the Giver of Everlasting Water – … – And Who, Therefore, Allowed the Samaritan Woman at Jacob’s Well to Herself, being in need of Everlasting Water, Leave Her Jar at The Well – … – Leaving Her Jar, having no Spiritual need for it now, and thus forgetting it altogether in her excitement to join the Lord on Mission – … – Herself, therefore becoming a Modeled Missionary after Christ – … – Who, in Himself, is the Great Missionary. (I love the Puritans!)

As I’ve prepared John 4.1-42 I’ve broken down my sermon into three parts:

1. Our needing to be willing to be in the world, as Jesus was in the world

2. Our needing to be willing to engage real sin and non-biblical worldviews, as Jesus engaged real sin and non-biblical worldviews

3. Our needing to be willing to be satisfied with God’s work, and doing God’s work, as Jesus was satisfied with doing God’s work

I’m really captivated this afternoon as I meditate on this third point. It’s reminded me of a line in a sermon from the Puritan Thomas Adams who said, “He is too covetous, whom Jesus Christ cannot satisfy.”

This makes even food and drink and material possessions in my life conviction and motivation to repent as the “formula” in Matthew 6.33 is “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you,” though I have not, as I should, sought first the Kingdom, as I need to!

I’m captivated too by v. 28 of John 4 where the Samaritan woman “leaves her water jar behind.” In my mind, being more excited about Christ’s working in her life and it being, in one part, the motivation for her becoming a missionary to her city on the spot!

The parallel between the woman’s jar and the lunch that Jesus’ disciples bring him are astonishing for me and it makes me wonder, “if we were really being the missionaries in our communities that we ought to be being, obeying the command of God who wills for worshipers (John 2.23) and motivated by the Gospel in our own lives, how many travel mugs would be left behind at Starbucks?”

Psalm 19.7-11

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

Well, after waiting for over a month a door has finally been opened for us for venue space for Sunday morning worship gatherings. We’re excited to announce that our first Sunday morning service will be April 12^th, which is Easter. (And what not a better time to begin meeting on Sundays!)

The House Café has given us permission to borrow their space on Sunday mornings, and we’re very excited about it. The House Café is one of the cultural centers of DeKalb. In fact it was just awarded the “second” best place to see a show (The House hosts live music and open mic just about every night of the week) by the Northern Star (NIU Campus Newspaper).

When we tell people that we’re thinking of meeting (and now have permission to meet) at the House people respond very positively, usually a, “man, that’s cool!” So, gathering at The House will continue to build our influence in DeKalb as we meet in a very popular place that the Gospel is completely foreign in, yet it will give us the opportunity to make it known there just as Paul made the Gospel known in the Aeropagus in Acts 17. Of course it will also give us the opportunity to have a safe place to meet for worship, which on Sunday morning is our primary desire.

Last week was also a week of God opening doors in regards to possible housing for Cher, Noel, Calvin, and I. It’s a strange story, but really cool, so I’ll tell it:

I went in to the local bike shop here last week and was talking to Toby, one of the owners. Toby was actually the first person that I ever met in DeKalb, back in August. Toby asked how are plans for moving out here were going and I mentioned that we had recently been looking at a few houses. He said that he had some friends who were selling their house on Ninth, to which I said, “The blue farmhouse?” He wasn’t sure it was a farm house but told me I should go take a look at it. So, leaving the bike shop I drove down Ninth and sure enough the house that Toby mentioned is the first house that Cher and I looked at a few weeks ago when we began our house hunting. Excited I called Cher to tell her the “coincidence.” As I began to tell her about Toby and his mentioning of the house she told me to “hang up, check your email, and call me back.” As soon as I hung up the phone I received Cher’s email, which she had sent just as I was calling her. In it she said, “every time I daydream about us living in DeKalb I envision us in that blue farmhouse, the first one we looked at.” Weird right?

So as we’ve been praying for God to open up doors for venue space and to move our family to a new neighborhood where we can develop meaningful community both for TcD and our kids we feel that God last week is acting and moving.

Obviously there are still things to consider and to be prayerful about. Even though doors are opening at The House is that the place we should settle on? Even though we had some things point to a house for our family should we move on it? We’re hoping that you would join with us in praying about these things.

For now though, the door has been opened and The House Café is willing to let us use their space so we’re going to move forward with that and begin to make our announcement of The church in DeKalb’s very first Sunday worship gathering on April 12^th, 2009.

Pretty exciting stuff!

Coupled with praying about The House Café and housing for our family here as some other things that you can partner with us in praying about:

1.       Our financial situation is okay, but, just to be honest, there isn’t quite enough support right now for me to get full salary checks this month. We’ll get enough to pay our bills and move us into April but more financial support is needed soon. God has been good and has always blessed us through His people at just the right time; prayerfully that time is coming soon! Please pray that more support comes in. We still need about 30 people who can give $40 a month, and it would be great, even if you can’t give monthly, if you could give a onetime gift either through the website (www.reachingdekalb.net) or mailed to 1125 Oak Street, St. Charles, IL 60174

2.       Pray that God continues to open doors, as He has, over the last few months, to us meeting new people and building good relationships with them. Pray that God would bring people who need to be encouraged, who need to hear the Gospel, and who are ready to receive the Gospel.

3.       Pray for our Community Group tomorrow night as well be going on a “mission trip” to our city. Pray that God would put some people in our paths who we could bless and build relationships off of those opportunities.

4.       Praise God for our friends and family who have all been a great encouragement to Cher and I and the rest of TcD through their prayers for us, financial support to us, and their encouraging words. You guys are all amazing! And just as Paul said to the Philippians: “I thank my God in all remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now!” (Philippians 1.3-5).

Thank you for partnering with us in the Gospel and enabling us to bless the people of DeKalb with the Good News and our good works!

Grace and Peace,

Jamie