Oost50

Proposed Schedule for Studying Revelation

2006-09-05T10:57:00.000+02:00

September
6 - Introduction (1:1-8)
13 - Seven Churches (1:9 - 3:22)
20 - Throne, Scroll, Lamb (4:1 - 5:14)
27 - NO STUDY ==> HELP CHURCH WITH RELOCATION!

October
4 - Seven Seals (6:1 - 8:1)
11 - Seven Trumpets (8:2 - 11:19)
18 - Crucial Characters (12:1 - 14:20)
25 - NO STUDY ==> Worship Night? Catch-up Night?

November
1 - Seven Bowls (15:1 - 16:21)
8 - Babylon (17:1 - 19:5)
15 - God's Victory (19:6 - 20:15)
22 - New Heaven, New Earth (20:11 - 22:21)
29 - Summary, Conclusion, Reflection, Application

Regeltjes voor Openbaring

2006-09-05T10:50:00.000+02:00

Just knowing that it can be a controversial and confusing book, I just thought I'd post some of the "rules" that I had thought of for studying Revelation. If anyone else has other rules to add, please suggest them.

Don't get too weird.
Don't try to read too much symbolism into every single current event.
Let your mind be seriously engaged, watching in a state of preparedness (it's good to keep an eye on current events) -- but don't become obsessive, over-anxious, or alarmist.
Remember that Revelation was not meant to be interpreted 100 percent literally (apocalyptic literature); it's not intended to be a linear historical (or future) description of events -- direct parallels will almost always be flawed.
Revelation was meant to be vague and mysterious! It's not merely a code to be cracked.
It's fun to theorize and analyze and envision practical outworkings of Revelation -- but we need to stay humble and flexible in our interpretations. There are hundreds of theories out there. People have been analyzing Revelation for centuries...
The main benefits of studying Revelation are developing critical thinking skills, learning to closely consider the Bible and its interpretation -- and most importantly, inducing a state of readiness among Christ's followers!
Keep in mind that discussion of Revelation is really just a discussion of secondary issues (not essential to salvation or daily Christian life).

If we can all keep these principles in mind, I think we'll have a very meaningful and enjoyable study of the book of Revelation!

Modern Issues Potentially (but not Necessarily) Indicative of the End Times

2006-09-05T10:40:00.000+02:00

Persistent conflict in Israel (Mark 13:14, Revelation 6:1-4)
Polarization of East and West -- Axis basically centered around Jerusalem (Revelation 6:1-4)
Enmity between Israel and Arab nations (Revelation 6:1-4, Genesis 16:12)
Iran developing nuclear technologies (Revelation 6:1-4)
Earthquakes and famines (Matthew 24:7, Mark 13:8, Revelation 6:5-8)
Wars and rumors of wars: Israel/Hezbollah, Chechnya, Uganda, Congo, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran (Matthew 24:6-7, Mark 13:7, Revelation 6:4)
A lot of the current "hot spots" match up with Biblically-significant geographical regions (Iran/Iraq = Babylon, Turkey = Asia Minor, Israel = Israel) (Revelation 9:14-16, Revelation 14:1, Revelation 17:3-6)
Suspicions about "Mark of the Beast" technologies -- ID chip implanted in hand or forehead (Revelation 13:16-17)
Conflict centered around Jerusalem's Temple Hill (Matthe 24:1-2, Mark 13:1-2)
Many claiming to be Christ (David Koresh, Indian gurus, etc.); false prophets and proliferation of religions (Matthew 24:5, Mark 13:6)
Persecution of Christians -- China, Africa, etc. (Matthew 24:9, Mark 13:9, Revelation 2:10, Revelation 6:9)
Fears about a massive plauge such as AIDS and/or Bird Flu (Luke 21:11, Revelation 6:8)
Two-hundred million man army -- China? (Revelation 9:16)

3 Things to Note

2006-08-20T16:31:00.000+02:00

Hoi allemaal!

There are three quick announcements for the coming week. Let goed op:

The location for this evening's "picnic" has been moved to our house (Retiefstraat 39 huis), instead of the Oosterpark. We hope to see you here...
We are canceling plans for our regular weekly get-together on Wednesday evening (23 August). Hopefully everyone can enjoy the end of the summer, and we'll plan on getting a fresh start next week (30 August).
Remember that there are no worship services in the Zolder on Sunday, 27 August. Instead, everyone is invited (and encouraged to invite anyone else that wants to come) to the Zolder on Saturday, 26 August for a party (see www.amsterdam50.nl for more information).

That's it. Tot ziens.

Wat betekent de wet?

2006-08-03T07:36:00.000+02:00

Ik vond onze discussie van gisteren avond heel nuttig en heel interessant. Ik hoop dat we volgende week verder en dieper kunnen gaan.

In de tussentijd, hier zijn een paar deeltjes uit het Nieuwe Testament die een beetje uitleg geven over de relatie tussen de wet (de tien geboden) en genade (door Jezus). Als u andere teksten kunnen vinden, graag even toevoegen! Maar als beginpunt...

Exodus 19:1 t/m Exodus 20:21
Romeinen 3:21-31
Romeinen 5:6-11
Romeinen 5:20-21
Romeinen 6:15-23
Romeinen 7:7
Romeinen 8:1-8
Hebreeën 9:11-15
Hebreeën 10:1-10

Nog een keer, volgende week wil ik over een paar belangrijke vragen praten: Wat bedoelde God toen Hij de wet gaf? en Wat betekent de wet (de tien geboden) voor ons vandaag (in the periode na Jezus)?

Home Group 14 June @ 18.30

2006-06-13T13:07:00.000+02:00

Beste Home Group broeders and zusters,

Zoals vorige week al werd aangekondigd zullen we morgen wat eerder beginnen. Maar aangezien er niet veel mensen waren is het nodig om het nog even op schrift te stellen.
Home Group bij Eric begint om 18:30 en is inclusief eten! (Rich Man Poor Man dinner). Please be there!

Sander
____
Dear home gourp brothers and sisters,
Tomorrow we'll have our home group at Eric's place at 18:30, we star earlier because we have the Rich Man Poor Man dinner together.
Sander

15 September SOLIS Dinner at Zolder50

2006-05-29T04:50:00.000+02:00

SOLIS Amsterdam is a Zolder50 initiative to help the poor. SOLIS is a non-profit organization focused on ending poverty and creating economic sustainability in developing communities.

I have mixed feelings about presenting SOLIS Amsterdam. On the one hand I’m excited to introduce you to a concrete project to help the poor. On the other hand I’ve been struggling with a sense of being overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the problems we’re talking about. We’re talking about poverty issues, hunger and social injustice.

I wondered how I should present this project. Should I perhaps use Bible verses, to convince you that it is good to feed the hungry? – I am sure many of you already know these verses. Should I perhaps invoke your compassion by speaking out emotionally? – But it’s not about us, it’s about what God has to say to us. This morning I struggled with these questions. I started to have an headache over all this thinking, I realised I could not really communicate what I wanted to communicate, because my mind was not at peace. So I switched on the TV.

There are moments when God seems to speak so clearly to me, and this was one of them. Our brothers and sisters of the Evangelical Broadcasting Company (EO) reported on the situation in Kenya. Persistent drought has caused food shortages. Now 3,5 million people need food aid. A woman working in Kenya for an aid organization told us about how people craved for food, how huge the needs were, not only for food but also for schooling, future prospects. The programme makers also reported on two kids who have lost their father. Elephants killed him, as they were competing for scarce water resources. Parents helplessly watch their children suffer sickness and starve...

I think it is important to understand that helping the poor is more than about giving money. We could for in instance commit time. We can also raise other people’s awareness for these issues, which is what we’ve been doing this month at our Church.

15^th of September we plan to organize a fundraising dinner at our church. All profit we make will be for business starting & community projects by the Village Enterprise Fund. Of course, we will have great food, but also performances and a DJ.

We hope to raise funds for the micro-enterprise fund and community grants.

Micro-enterprise funds help to create sustainable small businesses in developing communities in Kenya. The Micro-Enterprise fund will provide small loans to help people to start small businesses for instance metal recyclers, farms, taxi services, retail shops, etc.

Community grants are invested in community development. An example would be helping churches that have to take care of adopted aids orphans.

To organize this dinner we need your help. We need to fill the following tasks:

Food and Beverage: choosing recipes, preparing food, serving

Entertainment: performances (DJs, bands, …)
Decorations: tables, cutlery, etc.
PR: making and distributing brochures, making menu cards

Prayer

Sponsors: buy food and decorations.

In the orange room at the Zolder you will find lists where you can sign up I you want to volunteer the 15^th of September. Please sign up if you feel you could contribute something. For more information you can mail or phone me.

Long-term Commitment

Finally there are a couple of things I would like to mention shortly. This year some people in our church will visit Kenya, to see what happens with our projects. We want to build a long-term relationship between our Church and a Kenyan community. We think we will better understand the needs of people as we get to know them better. We also think a long term relationship will raise our awareness for poverty in this world. So, as we are ending our May Awareness month, the raising of awareness still goes on. In June we will organise Rich Man Poor Man dinners at the Home Groups of this Church. The idea is that the dining table represents the world, some people get food in abundance, others will have to do with a spoon of rice. Maybe you’d feel uncomfortable sitting at that table, but then again I think we should not feel comfortable about social injustice in this world.

Eric's Images from Nijmegen

2006-05-15T07:52:00.000+02:00

These are my five favorite photos from the Nijmegen weekend...

"Ani B" -- street smart in Centraal Station...

Marco's fashion statement -- this photo is destined to become a classic...

Jason, Nicole, and Geert Jan in Nijmegen...

H. Maria Geboorte Kerk (I felt a little guilty taking the picture in the middle of a church service, but I'm kind of glad that I did it).

The crazy group shot... You can see my blog for the "regular" group portrait, if you want...

I was going to try and upload some more photos to the Flickr account, but I couldn't figure out how to do it. Could anyone offer some advice? Either way (whether we do it through Flickr or through posting things directly to this blog or something else), I'd like to see some of the pictures that other people took as well.

Live from Nijmegen

2006-05-14T09:34:00.000+02:00

I'm typing this post from the living room of our host, Henrita, here in Nijmegen. We're getting ready to have breakfast and head to the H. Maria Geboorte Kerk. After that, we'll eat lunch together and then head back to Amsterdam...

It's been a good weekend.

In many ways, you could say that we have spied the land and found it to be incredibly fruitful. Yesterday's conversations with other ministry leaders from around the city yielded very positive reports about the need for further ministry in Nijmegen -- at least 150,000 people, even in this more traditionally "religious" part of the Netherlands, who are outside the reach of one of the existing churches. One of the leaders (Diedrick Eikelboom, from the Evangelical Alliance of Nijmegen) said that there is especially a need in some large neighborhoods of the city and in populations such as the university students, the artistically-minded community, the nature lovers, and the sporters (which is cool, because Zolder50 seems to have a particular affinity for these areas of ministry). Our conversations with random strangers in the parks, pleins, and streets of Nijmegen were very interesting and provocative. Many people seem to want desperately to believe but find themselves shackled by doubt and dogma. And among those who choose to be open to spiritual things, there seems to be a definite hunger for the gospel.

But, to be sure, there are also some "giants" in the land and some fortified cities that could be challenging if a new church were to be started in Nijmegen. It sounds like New Age spirituality and Paganism have a very strong influence in the area; several individuals mentioned that Wicca is big here and that spiritual battle is a very real and present phenomenon. Entrenched models of ministry also seem to create challenges for reaching the average unbeliever, who assumes that church is something boring, hypocritical, and irrelevant. The area is definitely more Dutch-speaking than Amsterdam, and even Amsterdammers who would move to Nijmegen would be considered "allochtonen" (foreigners).

Nevertheless, the weekend has been very encouraging and stimulating. We want to continue to pray for God's guidance as we process our experiences from the last days. We want to hear God's voice clearly, and if God's voice is urging us to "take the land" then we want to respond not in fear but in faith -- like Caleb son of Jephunneh, who said, "we should go up and take posession of the land, for we can certainly do it" (Numbers 13:30).

We look forward to posting more reflections and photographs from the trip, as time goes on...

Evangelistic dos and don'ts with Muslims

2006-05-11T18:17:00.000+02:00

Do:
-love and respect your Muslim friend(s).
(90% of Muslims who converted to Christianity said it was because of love)
-pray with them, with their permission, and pray for them.
-consult the Bible often to explain and support what you believe. This will expose your Muslim friend to the Bible's ring of authority and authenticity. At an appropriate time, offer to study the Gospel according to John with them.
-meet with them individually. Witnessing to Muslims is best done one-to-one. When you meet Muslims in a group, they will dutifully defend their religion in front of others so as not to expose the doubts they might have.
-point to Jesus and your relationship with him as often as you can without being offensive. A former Muslim said, "It is absolutely vital for the Muslim to see Christianity not as a religion but as a living, new relationship with God".
-use Jesus' parables and stories. Muslims are more influenced by stories and parables than they are by logical arguments. (Especially the story of the Prodigal Son is meaningful to Muslims.)
-read at least a few portions, if not all, of the Qur'an so that you will become familiar with the Muslim concept of God with the "flavour" or their religion.
-be patient, persistent, and prayerful. Muslims in general are slow in turning to Jesus Christ for salvation. (If it takes years and you still see no results, do not be discouraged or give up hope!)
-handle the Bible with respect. The custon in Islamic countries is to not lower the Qur'an below the waist. Muslims also keep the Qur'an on the highest shelf in the house, for nothing should be placed above the Qur'an. Allso, they consider it a sign of disrespect to write in the Qur'an or the Bible.

Don't:
-be critical of Islam, the Qur'an, or Muhammad. In fact, try to avoid such subjects altogether. Instead, focus on sharing the Good news of the Gospel.
-take your Muslim friend to church until you know that they are ready for it. There is much that could happen during a church service that the typical Muslim would find dishonouring to God and therefore offensive to him or her (for instance, men and women sitting together and casually touching each other). If you do take a Muslim to church, discuss with him or her what to expect beforehand. It is best to introduce a Muslim slowly to the Christian culture by taking him or her to Bible discussions (home group).
-argue with your Muslim friend. Understand that a Muslim cannot lose an argument, because he or she would then lose face. Try to sensitively stimulate your friend's thinking instead.

weekend nijmegen!!!

2006-05-09T22:13:00.000+02:00

Spies in the Land: Nijmegen

Friday 12 May 2006:

19.15 Meet in front of the “GWK Travelex Worldwide Money” store in Amsterdam Central Station. Buy a “weekendretour” (weekend return) ticket to Nijmegen at the discounted rate (korting). This costs €16,70.

19.47 Train to Nijmegen (arrive at 21.11)

21.15 10 minutes walk to Rianne’s place (girls sleep here)

21.45 Start with ice-breaker and prayer

22.30 Boys walk 20 minutes to sleep at Henrita’s place

Saturday 13 May 2006

9.00 Breakfast at Rianne’s place

10.00 Quiet time (until approximately 11:00)

12.30 Lunch

13.00 Split up into smaller groups for meetings with Nijmegen Christians (various pre-arranged options). Talk with Nijmegenaren and solicit their opinions regarding church planting options in Nijmegen.

15.00 Regroup at ‘de Verwondering’ (Christian coffee house); go out in pairs to conduct
street interviews for the rest of the afternoon (until 18.00)

19.00 Dinner at Jana’s place

20.30 Reflection and Discussion

Sunday 14 May 2006 (Jeroen’s birthday!)

Start the day with boys and girls separate: Breakfast, Quiet time and Cleaning (take your stuff along to church). Girls need to be out before 9.30 due to church service in the building.

10.30 Church service at H. Maria Geboorte Catholic Church (www.mariageboorte.nl)

12.00 Lunch and small birthday party for Jeroen

13.20 Train to Amsterdam (arrive at 15.00)

Costs: Approximately €20 per person, plus the costs of your train ticket. Also, please bring your own sleeping bag and mattress, bring your own towel.

Preparation:
Take up the shield of faith, with which we can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people in Nijmegen. Pray also for us, that whenever we speak, words may be given us so that we will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which we are ambassadors. Pray that we may declare it fearlessly, as we should.

Picture time...

2006-04-22T11:41:00.000+02:00

For all the people that speak Dutch, the name of the following feature might sound a bit strange: Flickr. It's a website that allows you to upload pictures that are accessible for everyone. Feel free to upload pictures if you have some (just mail me for the password). If you don't feel like doing that yourself, or if you don't know how, you can also mail me your pics and then I'll put them on Flickr. I have to say, though, that there's a limit of 20MB a month, so be aware of that. That's also why I haven't yet uploaded all my homegroup pictures, but only some random homegroup pictures. I hope you like 'em! You can go there by using the link on the right...

Goofs for I Am Sam (2001)

2006-04-21T09:49:00.000+02:00

Some goofs for I AM SAM:

Continuity: In the very beginning shot, when Sam is sorting sugar packets in the holders, he puts the brown "raw sugar" packets in front. When he is shown setting the holders on the tables, the brown packets are in the middle.

Factual errors: Credits list "starbucks barrister" instead of "barista".

Continuity: In the first courtroom scene, the judge asks to see Sam back in court on January 5th, supposedly a month after that day. However, the board of cases for the day says the date is August 20th.

Nevertheless, I hope you enjoyed last Wednesday. The love of a father does not fail,... at least that's what the movie teaches us.

Oudeschans 60D - Centrum 50

2006-04-17T08:14:00.000+02:00

Beste Home Group broeders en zusters,

Woensdag aanstaande zal de Home Group plaatsvinden op Oudeschans 60 D, nabij Nieuwmarkt en Waterlooplein.

Sander en Marco heten jullie van harte welkom op hun thuisbasis!

Tot ziens!

Dear Home Group brothers and sisters,

This Wednesday we will have our Home Group on Oudeschans 60 D, nearby Nieuwmarkt and Waterlooplein.

Sander and Marco welcome you in their home!

See you!

Wisdom on Wealth from Proverbs

2006-04-13T09:29:00.000+02:00

I was reading Proverbs chapter 13 this morning, and I found some interesting insight into the questions of wealth that we were discussing yesterday evening. I thought I'd share a few of the verses with you:

One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. De een doet zich rijk voor terwijl hij niets bezit, de ander doet of hij arm is terwijl hij een vermogen heeft (13:7).

A man's riches may ransom his life, but a poor man hears no threat. De rijkdom van een mens is het losgeld voor zijn leven, ben je arm, dan word je niet bedreigd (13:8).

Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow. In de schoot geworpen rijkdom is weer snel verdwenen, gestage groei maakt rijk (13:11).

Misfortune pursues the sinner, but prosperity is the reward of the righteous. Zondaars treft ellende, rechtvaardigen wacht een beloning (13:21).

A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous. Een goed mens laat ook een kleinkind een erfdeel na, een zondaar vergaart bezit voor een rechtvaardige (13:22).

11 ideas for our home group blog...

2006-04-11T18:58:00.000+02:00

So I thought it might be helpful to throw out a few suggestions for ways that this blog could be used. Of course, there's always room for the random musings on life, and I hope some of the people from our group will want to share some such thoughts in this space from time to time... But to keep things as accessible as possible and as useful as possible, I think it would be good for us to broaden the definition of how a group blog (such as this) can be used. Here are some ideas that I came up with:

(1) You could use the blog to post a picture of our group, or of some of the individuals from within our group. This could be a really simple post, like: "Hey guys! Here's a fun picture of Niel and Jeroen!"

(2) Post prayer requests or updates on situations that we've been praying about. Again, this could be very simple, like: "Hoi allemaal! Ik heb morgen ochtend een solicitatiegesprek om 10:30. Kunnen jullie misschien voor me bidden?"

(3) We can use the blog to keep each other updated about special projects like fixing up the Leger des Heils facility, or our special trip to Nijmegen in May (stay tuned for a Nijmegen update within the next couple of days).

(4) Someone could point out and link to interesting news articles from the internet, prompting discussion and follow-up. I'm thinking of something like Sander's recent posting about global warming...

(5) Someone could share a verse from the Bible that has spoken to them recently. Again, this doesn't have to be an elaborate Bible study. It could be very simple, like: "I was just reading in Proverbs chapter three this morning, and verses five and six really encouraged me: 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight.'"

(6) You could share a short story about something funny that happened to you during the day.

(7) You could share a short story about something sad that happened to you during the day.

(8) We could arrange plans for a special group function. You know, something like: "Hey -- would anyone be interested in watching 'Band of Brothers' at my house on Saturday evening?"

(9) We could remind people about special events, like when our group is assigned to clean the Zolder. Or when the next Soul Gathering is coming up.

(10) You could use the home group blog to invite people to your birthday party.

(11) You could ask others in the group for advice... Maybe you're thinking of trying a new haircut (at Niel and Vera's salon)... Maybe you're trying to find a good place to buy a second-hand bicycle... Maybe you have friends coming to visit and you're looking for ideas of what to do with them while they're in town... You get the idea.

I'm sure there are other possibilities as well. If anyone has any specific ideas, you could post them in the "Comments" section below (and in general, this would be the way that most of the interactive elements of my suggestions above would take place)... And for what it's worth, I think it would be great to make our blog bi-lingual (tweetalig): English and Nederlands. That will make it easier for more people to be involved, and it will give our blog more of the character of our group. Perhaps tomorrow (Wednesday evening), we can talk about the possibility of sending out an invitation for different people to join as "members" of the blog -- so everyone can post, if they'd like to... But in the meantime, if you have any specific ideas, you can post them in the comments or you can e-mail something to me or Jeroen with instructions to post it for you.

So let the blogging begin...

Stepping out

2006-04-03T20:51:00.000+02:00

Dear Oost50 homegroupers,

We (Eric and Jeroen) thought it would be nice to start a blog for our homegroup. We were thinking of making weekly posts of our meetings, each time by a different member. It is a great way to show the other home groups what we are up too and to show potential new members what it is what some of those christians do in their secret little meetings!

It will be our little place to show the world what we as a group think and do in service of God and each other.

See you wednesday!
Jeroen