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Project Church — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 19:30:58 +0000

These messages are recorded at our Sunday morning service at 10 a.m. at the Elks Theatre in downtown Rapid City, SD.

Feel free to download, listen, and share these recordings.

Rhythms

Project Church — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 01:24:01 +0000

“Love one another.” -Jesus

Being a Christian is so much more than a mere label, it’s a way of life. A pattern that’s integrated into everyday life not because we have to but because we get to. Not so much out of religious obligation but compelled by a love for God and people. Love is what a disciple of Jesus should be known for and these are the rhythms we are striving for.

Follow
Above all, we seek to know, love, and follow Jesus in our thoughts, words, and actions. In every day and every moment, we look to Jesus as our great King and example. Following Jesus is a series of next steps, each resulting in us becoming more like him. His footsteps may be large but they mark the path of the life in full.

Sent
Jesus sends us out, on mission, into culture, to be salt and light everywhere we go. In this sense, we are missionaries wherever we are (read more)…

Explore
To love God with all our minds means we are to be curious and filled with wonder at what God has revealed- in particular in the scriptures. Through teaching and regular reading of the bible, we learn what it means to live the lives we’re meant to live and we are shaped by the very words of God. We also discover more about our Creator and his creation in all realms of learning through story, wisdom, song, nature, imagination, and more. However, our highest authority is our divine conversation with Jesus through the reading of scripture.

Eat
We choose not to waste our meals. We will seek to commune with others when possible and view each meal as a blessing from God. With each food and drink we consume, we will remember the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf as his body was broken and blood was shed for us.

Presence
We reject any notion that we are to create our own subculture. Instead, we dwell within culture in order to influence, shape, and redeem it. We believe this whole world and everything, and everyone in it, belong to God. Like Jesus, we choose to enter the story in order to change the story.

Listen
We are charged to love God and our neighbor as ourselves. One tangible expression of love is listening. We will take opportunities to hear the stories of others. To rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. We also will listen to God and create deliberate moments of silence and quiet our hearts before our Creator.

Party
Backyard BBQ’s, gathering at the local watering hole, inviting friends to our home for food and fun. These are just a few examples of what it means to party. We choose to celebrate and enjoy life with people inside and outside our community. This is what Jesus did. A good party is like a little drop of heaven on earth and is a way of life for the follower of Christ.

Bless
We are blessed by God to be a blessing to others. This can come in many forms. An encouraging email, a note of appreciation, a kind word, an unselfish act, a helping hand. Wherever your imagination takes you. Being a blessing is to make deposits into the accounts of people. Showing grace is to do so whether someone deserves it or not. We will look to tangibly bless others daily.

Grow
Growth is a natural byproduct of every healthy, living thing. This includes people and churches. Since growth comes from God, we will continually fix our eyes on Christ, search our hearts for any cheap substitutes to him, and repent of our sin and place them at the feet of our King. We will seek to live lives of health and wholeness remembering there’s one throne and one source of genuine growth. In doing so, we will seek to fulfill Jesus’ charge to go and make [more] disciples.

Include
The arm of God is big enough to wrap around the whole world. The least we can do is wrap our arms around our neighbor, the people we come across in our daily lives. We will not play favorites based on social status but view all people as equally valuable under an almighty God. Our community is one where people can belong before they believe and find grace overflowing. All are welcome to the table.

Pray
We will be a people of constant conversation and communion with God. As we live our lives, we will pray without ceasing according to God’s will. We will thank God, worship God, be honest to God, confess our sins to God, listen to God, and always seek opportunities to pray for others. Our hope is to be the go-to people for prayer in our relational networks without making a big show of it.

Share
We will seek to share our time, talent, and treasure with others. Generosity will flow out of the grace God has given us. We are to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share. We will be an authentic community who shares one another’s burdens with a battle cry that “no one walks alone!” This is pleasing to God and a fingerprint of a true disciple.

Fight
We will stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves and offer hope to the hopeless. We will fight against injustice and guilt-based religion by our actions and the Gospel. We agree with scripture and believe for justice to roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. In serving others, we serve Christ. We will never forget that our ultimate mission is to bring good news and be good news to those around us.

Romans 12:9-18 (ESV):

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

A Divine Conversation

Project Church — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:54:54 +0000

You are in a divine conversation with God. He talks to you through Scripture, you talk to him through prayer. And when God speaks something into your heart, it will never contradict Scripture.

The Bible is personal and is evidence of a relationship with God. 1 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that Scripture is breathed out by God. That through it, God prepares us for the life we are meant to live. He teaches us what’s right (such as loving God & people). And should we believe in something bogus, Scripture can set things straight, can contradict us when we’re wrong, prevent us from following lies, living like idiots, and even from following some nutjob false teacher. We don’t make Scripture, Scripture is making us.

We don’t worship the Bible. We worship God. But we love the Bible because it’s God’s letter to us. And because of that, we study it.

There are two ways to look at Scripture:
1) You stand in authority over it. You sit as judge and jury. You cut and paste what you like.
2) Scripture stands in authority over you because it’s God’s word. It is your supreme court. You are shaped by it.

There’s one throne.
Who sits on it?
You or Jesus?

Ssearch your heart and see who sits on that one throne. It is the center from which you live your life.

If Christ is the center of your life, and if Scripture truly contains the very words of God to us, then it changes everything. We study Scripture not because we have to but because we get to. To not just know about God but to know God. That’s huge!

As you pursue God through Scripture, resist reading it just for information. Instead, study it for transformation! As you do, you might just find that it is God who’s been pursuing you.

With that in mind, we’ve compiled a starter kit to assist you. We hope you find it helpful in your divine conversation with God.

Essentials

Humility (Okay, this isn’t a resource but it is crucial. If we don’t humble ourselves under Scripture, then our studies will be in vain.)
A Solid Study Bible (Multiple translations are handy, but we recommend your primary study Bible be an ESV translation. It’s accurate and readable.
A Good Notebook and a writing utensil.

Other Resources

Word-for-word (ESV, NASB), thought-for-thought (NIV), and paraphrase (The Message, NLT,) versions of Scripture. All are useful.
An Exhaustive Bible Concordance (Helps to dig into the original meaning of words in Scripture)
A Bible Dictionary (So you can look up words like wormwood)
A Topical Bible (Naves NIV Topical Bible is a solid choice)
Bible Handbook (Good info about culture of time, geography, etc. paints a picture of the context)
Commentaries from trusted and theologically-sound writers (Here’s just a few)
Solid systematic theology books (ones by Grudem, Packer, & Sproul are sound and readable)

Some Free Online Resources

YouVersion (Great social bible Study tool from our friends at Lifechurch.tv)
BibleGateway (Straight forward, good for multiple translation)
E-Sword (Online resources with concordances, commentaries, and more)
StudyLight.org (Lots of resources like dictionaries, atlases, articles, and much more)
CCEL.org (Christian Classics from Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Edwards, and more)
TheResurgence.com (theological resources from our friends at Mars Hill Church in Seattle)

Where to Start

Start in the book of John
Commit to read at least one chapter a day or you can follow a reading plan
Helpful study/devotional method: S.O.A.P. (by Wayne Cordeiro in The Divine Mentor)

S-Scripture: Write out the verse(s) that stood out to you.
O-Observation: What is this verse saying? Why is it standing out to you? Write it down.
A-Application: What do you think God wants you to do with this verse today? Write it down.
P-Prayer: Write out your prayer to God.

The Ultimate Question
When reading Scripture, always be asking this question: “How does what I just read point to Jesus?”
That’s the key to studying and understanding Scripture. Jesus said it was all about him. (Luke 24:27, John 5:39)

The Second Best Question
What does this mean for my life?

Community
Finally, Scripture is not meant just for us alone but also for us as a community. None of us know it all, but others can help shed light or ask questions that cause us to dig further. For Project Church, we have Missional Communities. These communities are just people coming together, forging friendships, eating, doing life together, living as missionaries, and exploring Scripture together. If you’re interested in being a part of a missional community, let us know by emailing projectchurch@gmail.com

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart.” – GOD (Jeremiah 29:13)

SENT: A Movement of Missionaries

Project Church — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 01:38:42 +0000

What it means to be missional.

By Jason Salamun

Being missional is a posture of living sent. Jesus was sent by God the Father and we are sent by Jesus.
“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’”
John 20:21 (ESV):

Do you know what Jesus’ mission was?

Jesus tells us in Luke 19:10 that he came to seek and save that which was lost.
We follow Jesus and HIS mission.
This is why this church exists: To lead people far from God to live lives following Jesus.
This is why we are a church where you can belong before you believe.
This is why we say that we’re a church for explorers and followers of Christ.
We like to think that missions is something that happens “over there.” Truth be told, the mission is wherever you are.
Where we are, thousands of people do not have a relationship with Jesus. Thousands.
If you’re a follower of Jesus, does that bother you?

How does this affect your life?
John 17:15 (ESV) – “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.”

C.T. Studd (missionary in China, India, and Africa) “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.”
“It’s about replacing personal or Christian activities with time spent building relationships with people in the surrounding culture.” – Hugh Halter in “The Tangible Kingdom”
Following Jesus isn’t safe.
Relationships- Your relational network is your mission field
Mission fits into the natural rhythms of your life.
Mission takes place in every nook and cranny of your life.
If you’re a follower of Jesus, then you are missionaries in your zip code.
The question isn’t if you’re a missionary. It’s what kind of missionary are you.
God has you given you burdens and passions. Maybe you have a special place in your heart for homeless. That’s a great place for you to serve. But perhaps he’s given your friend a passion to do something with kids. Don’t get mad at them because their biggest passion isn’t yours.
Be thankful that God is spreading us out with various callings.
Don’t wait for the church to organize mission activities. Just do it. Coordinate something. Call friends and family and just GO!
Some of us simply need to dwell in culture more. Make friends who are at a different place on their spiritual journey than you. Not so you can beat them over the head with the Bible- but so that you can show them love like Jesus would.
Too often, Christians retreat from “the world” Some reject meaningful relationships with people who aren’t Christian. They could never lower themselves to step into a bar or sit in the smoking section. We judge one another if we’re having lunch with someone they don’t approve of- a known sinner. Funny though, Jesus did too.

How does this affect the Church?

The church is a body of believers sent into this world.
Faithful to Scripture: Relevant to culture
Calling all people into a lifelong pursuit of following Jesus.
The heart of discipleship is to become like Jesus.
Reproduce disciples —-> Leaders —–> Churches —-> Movements
Replace the word, “outreach’ with the word, “dwell.”
How did God reach the world. Incarnated himself in Jesus. Same is true with us. We must dwell.
Unfortunately many U.S. churches say, “come” to our cities when we’re told “go” into the world by Jesus.
Being missional means that we see the church not as a place we go only on Saturday night or Sunday morning, but as something we are throughout the week.
We bring the church to the people instead of people to the church.
We are a church “for” the city/culture/people where God has placed us- Rapid City, the Black Hills, and the world.
Evangelism – Not on the street corner passing out booklets and tracts. Not effective. What is effective is building relationships with people and, as a church, creating environments where an explorer can belong before they believe.
Social Justice - There are children in other countries who need fresh water and food and there are hungry and lonely children right here in the Black Hills. There are people who are hurting and need a friend in other countries and there are people who are hurting and need a friend in your neighborhood, your workplace, your school.
Here are three questions the world is asking: (Dave Gibbons of Newsong Church)
1. What is my pain?
2. What’s in your hand?
3. Can anything good come from Nazareth?

Yes, and his name is Jesus Christ. And he gave us a mission. Right before his ascension to the right hand of God the Father, Jesus left his disciples these words which echo to us today.

Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me
It’s all about Jesus. This movement of missionaries begins with him. He is our God and Savior. Everything we do is because we love him. We have all the authority we need because he’s the one who’s sending us. We have permission.

Go therefore
GO! This is not a suggestion- this is a charge. It’s the mission he’s given us. Following Jesus isn’t an outside-in walk it’s an inside-out one. It propels us to a world in need of the grace and truth of Jesus. The gospel. “Therefore” implies we go because something has happened. Something did happen. Everything changed with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. There is no greater love. Churches are sent- they don’t sit.

and make disciples
Here it is: the charge of the church: To make disciples. Being a disciple is following Jesus and becoming more like him. The first step in being a disciple is to actually believe in gospel, deny ourselves, and follow him. And following Jesus is a series of next steps. Discipleship is so much more than just knowing more about God. It’s not a program- it’s a lifestyle. A true disciple loves God and loves people and seeks to join God in his mission in the world.

of all nations
This movement begins right where we are and extends to the whole world. There are people right where we live who don’t know Jesus. They have no idea what grace is. This is the gravest of injustices. We must reach them. The same is true around the world. This is why we must multiply, start new churches, think bigger, and think global from the beginning.

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
We have to reach people with the gospel. We will not be a church that compromises the truth for the sake of a crowd. It’s in this power that we go and make disciples. Baptism signifies that we belong to Jesus. It’s a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. It’s by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Son, Jesus Christ, and to the glory of God.

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you
Let us remember the nutshell of Jesus’ teaching: love God and others as yourself. It’s not simply head knowledge- it’s about heart. Yes, we teach the Bible, theology, life stuff. But it was never meant to end there. We love. In fact, Jesus just commanded that we “Go” so we teach them to do that too. Being a follower of Jesus means that you are a missionary wherever you are. At home, work, traffic, store, bar, restaurant, church, friends, sidewalk, park, movies, coffee shop, school, wherever you are.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
We end with a promise from the lips of Jesus. He is with us. He is always with us and will never leave us. It’s in his name, by his power, with his message that we go. He won’t let you go. He’s with you always. When you feel like you can’t go on. He’s with you. When you don’t feel good enough. He’s with you. When you screw up or fall down. He’s with you. Wherever you go.

John Piper says it well in the opening lines of “Let the Nations Be Glad”:
“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever. Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal in missions.”

God help us be a movement of missionaries.

More on Being Missional:

A Fistful of Scripture
Genesis 12
Matthew 4:18-22
Matthew 20:25-28
Luke 4:42-44
Luke 19:1-10
John 17:13-26
1 Thessalonians 1:2-10
Acts 17:22-34
Luke 9-11
Jeremiah 29:4-7
John 20:21
Luke 15

A Handful of Good Books
The Forgotten Ways – Alan Hirsch
The Shaping of Things to Come – Alan Hirsch & Michael Frost
Let the Nations Be Glad – John Piper
The Tangible Kingdom – Hugh Halter & Matt Smay
The Radical Reformission – Mark Driscoll
Breaking the Missional Code – Ed Stetzer & David Putnam

Looking for a Job in Rapid City?

Project Church — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 20:29:21 +0000

We’re compiling a list of employment websites for our friends in the Black Hills. Our hope is that this will be a useful resource for the community in searching for career opportunities right here in Rapid City.

If you, or an organization you know, has an employment website, please contact us at info@projectchurch.net and we’ll get it added to this page.

Job Boards

Careerbuilder.com

HotJobs.com (via Rapid City Journal)

Indeed.com (Search all major job boards in one spot)

Monster.com

Simplyhired.com

Snagajob.com (Hourly Job Search)

South Dakota Department of Labor Listing

Government

City of Rapid City

Ellsworth AFB Civilian Employment

Pennington County

Rapid City Area Schools

South Dakota Army National Guard

South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks

State of South Dakota

U.S.A Jobs – Federal Government

Education

Black Hills State University

National American University

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

Organizations

Assurant Solutions

Behavior Management Systems

Best Buy

Black Hills Children’s Home Society

Black Hills Corporation

Black Hills Federal Credit Union

Black Hills FOX

Black Hills Surgery Center

Black Hills Workshop

Cabela’s

Coca-Cola Bottling Co.

Lowes Home Improvement

McDonalds

Menards

Midcontinent Communications

Nash Finch

NEW

Pepsi (Admiral Beverage Company)

Pete Lien & Sons

Rapid City Journal

Rapid City Medical Center

Rapid City Regional Hospital

United Blood Services

Westhills Village Retirement Community

YMCA

Youth and Family Services

Rapid City Churches

Project Church — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:50:59 +0000

At Project Church, we are a gospel-centered, non-denominational church who welcomes anybody regardless of where you’re at on your faith journey.

At the same time, we know we’re not the church for everybody. Some prefer a particular tradition or expression that may not be found within our community.

Here are a handful of links to other local churches for you to consider if Project Church isn’t right for you.

The Well (Non-Denominational)

Trinity Lutheran Church (Lutheran)

First United Methodist (Methodist)

Hillsview E-Free Church (Evangelical-Free)

Rimrock E-Free Church (Evangelical-Free)

First E-Free Church (Evangelical-Free)

Destiny Foursquare Church (Foursquare/Pentecostal)

First Assembly of God (Assembly of God/Pentecostal)

First Presbyterian Church (Presbyterian)

Real Life Church (Nazarene)