Yeah it's Friday! Enjoy the weekend!

The Gathering 2nite @ 630. Bring mula for food and drinkies. Special times await you for those who know this week's memory verse - Romans 1:17

Hebrews 4:15-16

LIFEgroups 2nite @ 630. MS @ Escape and HS @ Starbucks on Old Denton and Frankford from this point on. Bring your bibles and don't forget to tip your barista.

Final Hours of Summer

Summer has approximately 8 hours until it's dead. Rest in peace, Summer 2009. Tell Summer 2001 hello for me! For RidgeStudents, it was a great one. We had some fun activities. Here is a recap of this summer's awesomeness:

• A fantastic Student Life @ the Beach camp
• A great LIFEgroup study in 1st John
• Mission: Dallas 2009 sharing the love of Christ in South Dallas
• 2 separate Student Service Days
• Great experiences with friends and leaders

This past week, there was an instance that made me think about Christianity in our lives and in the schools we attend. There was an inappropriate comment left on Facebook for something connected to RidgeStudents (don't worry parents, it wasn't any of the students). The comment was removed and the person was reported but it made me think about the veil that we can often hide behind. It's so easy to check a box online saying that you are a Christian, or scroll down through a list and choose your faith allegiance, but what does that look like in our everyday lives. No matter how many people see my "Religious Affiliation," it doesn't mean anything unless they understand what that means practically in my life. Is it merely a label? Is it a convenient fallback?

"Facebook Christianity" as I like call it, is so easy to be a participant in. I can status update Scripture all day long, but once I leave my home, I too often fail to proclaim the same message with my mouth in front of real living humans, face-to-face. If I'm not doing that, then I'm the same as the 38 year old guy who sits in his parent's basement, commenting on various conspiracy theories on his 2-hit-per-year blog and believing that everyone else is an idiot if they don't believe that Christianity is a made up religion from old white men in suits who use it to control our minds, all the while eating nothing but Taco Smell and drinking out of a two liter bottle of Mountain Eeeew.

We have got to be people of the Gospel. Even as I write this, I'm evaluating areas in my life where I continue to fail in this regard. Paul tells us, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith' " (Romans 1.16-17 ESV). The Gospel is the power of salvation! God has chosen us to proclaim that message, and what are we doing about it!? For me, I spend way too much time arranging my iTunes so that all my albums have the correct cover art and song order, and spend too much energy "window coveting" all the stuff of this world I don't have but want and think it will somehow make my life more complete. What a waste! I need to proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified. If you believe that, let us join together in that cause.

My final words are, stay in the Word. If you are not currently in the Word daily, get in there! We all have the time, despite the excuses we might make. Get in the Word as a family, get in the Word as an individual, and get in the Word with LIFEgroups. Romans 1-8 will be our focus this semester, and these famous eight chapters contain the power of the Gospel for salvation and the very words of God spoken to His people so that they might see the truth, love the truth and live the truth! Please join us on this journey this fall. I pray God will shine the bright light of His Word in our hearts so that we may love Him more and no longer be afraid to proclaim the burden-freeing message of Jesus Christ in our lives. Take care and have a great first week of school in Him.

Peace in Him Alone,

Coleman Ford

God does not choose us because we believe, but that we may believe. - St. Augustine

Don't forget guys, Romans 1-8. Read it this week! It's awesome stuff!

Fall LIFEgroups start 2nite. 630@Escape. Bring money for a delish smoothie and/or yum yum donut.

Romans 8:6-9. Good word.

He who died for us is all that I seek; He who rose again for us is my whole desire. - Ignatius to the Romans, 2nd century AD

Indeed, it is better to keep quiet and be, than to make fluent professions and not be. - Ignatius of Antioch

Set Sail for Rome!

When in Rome...
This fall we will be taking an in-depth look at the first eight chapters of Paul's wonderful letter to the Romans. The Letter to the Romans is one of the most foundational documents of Christianity. This letter was written approximately 20 years after the resurrection and ascension of Christ to a church that likely formed shortly after the Feast of Pentacost when the Holy Spirit came upon believers and 3000 were converted in a single day (Acts 2). This makes the church in Rome one of the oldest congregations of believers. Rome itself, being the capital of the then mighty Roman empire, was home to the emperor (and subsequent emperor worship) and a wide array of paganism and idolatry. This is the context in which the Roman church found itself. In 49 AD, emperor Claudius sent an edict out expelling both Christian Jews and non-Christian Jews from Rome as the result of what the ancient Roman historian Suetonius describes as "disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus." Due to the more than common confusion of "i" and "e" in the Latin to Greek translations, most scholars conclude that this was an incident of Jewish Christians and Jews arguing over Chistus, or Jesus as being the Christ. Also, in 64 AD, the emperor Nero blamed Christians for a city-wide fire and thus began the first persecution of Christians from a secular state in which many were burned and crucified. It is said that Nero had Christians burned at the stake in his private garden at night in order to provide light. It is during this time that the apostles Peter and Paul were put to death. Christians in Rome were subject to repeated, yet infrequent, attacks and persecutions by the organized state until the pronouncement of Christianity as a recognized religion by the state under the emperor Constatine in the 4th century AD. For more info on early church history, click here.

Why Should We Study Romans?
I'm glad you asked! A study of Romans is essential for every believer as Romans contains the foundational doctrines for belief. Surely one can be a Christian without ever reading Romans, but one such person would be the most uninformed Christian in regards to their faith. The point is that a believer can not escape reading and knowing Romans as a key aspect to their belief. The doctrine of total depravity, original sin, justification, sanctification, and more pour forth from the mouth of Paul in his letter to the Romans. For one to know exactly what Christ did for us and what that means for our lives, one ultimately will find the answer somewhere within the pages of Romans. A study of Romans informs the reader of the depth of humanity's inability to save themselves and the necessity of a perfect and sinless savior to impart righteousness through faith. Here are a handful of other reasons why a study of Romans is vital for every believer.

1. Knowing Romans provides the believer with tools necessary for evangelism and spiritual conversation.
2. Knowing Romans takes the perceived power of salvation out of the believers hands and places it solely where it belongs; at the grace and mercy of God.
3. Knowing Romans better prepares the believer for a life-long journey of sanctification through the power of the Holy Spirit.
4. Knowing Romans answers numerous questions in regards to the human condition, sin struggles, and the proper response of a believer upon receiving faith in Christ.
5. Knowing Romans opens the door for deeper study into God's Word through exploring Old Testament connections, a re-invitation to the Gospels, and further study into the writings of Paul and the other apostle

There are numerous other reasons why one should embark on a study of Romans. The main point is that a dedicated and intentional study of the Letter to the Romans is essential to the spiritual life of every believer and provides a context for much of why we believe what we believe.

Why only Romans 1 -8?
The reason I chose to limit this fall's study to the first eight chapters has to do with one key factor: time. We could do a brief overview of the entire epistle within the span of the entire semester, but my fear in doing that is that we would casually breeze over some very important material for the sake of moving forward. For fear of missing out on some foundational aspects, I decided to restrict the study to the first eight chapters in order that we may gain a deeper perspective on the doctrines of total depravity, original sin, justification and sanctification. Surely I can not deny the equal importance of chapters 9-16, but for the sake of our goal for this year, chapter 1-8 makes more sense. What is that goal you may ask? 1 Corinthians 2.2 states the goal for 2009; "For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." Through our study of Mark, we witnessed the basic story of who Jesus is and what He did. Into the summer, we looked at the depth of God's love and how faith in Christ is exhibited towards others in the first epistle from the beloved disciple John. Finally, for the fall, we will chew on the meat of the Gospel and see exactly how far off we are and how precious a gift Christ is for those who believe. I truly believe that the first eight chapters of Romans are the best eight chapters ever written within all of history. I hope you are as excited as I am about this study in Romans. I will be contacting each family within the next two weeks to schedule a time to come by and sit down with you and explain the family study guide which will compliment the student version. Take care and have a great week in the Lord!

Peace in Him,

Coleman

The Gathering 2nite @ 630. Bring a friend and let's do this!

Going to South Dallas to hang out with some kids and share the love of Christ. Meet @ The Ridge at 8 AM if you're down.

Student service day tomorrow. 8am @ the church. We'll be hanging and playing with kids in Dallas so wear appropriate outside clothes. We'll be back @ church @ 1

LIFEgroup 2nite @ 630 at the church. Them stay for games anec movie. Wrap up @ 930. Bring 5 bucks for food. C u there!