Next to sex and gender, the subject of race is the most discussed topic in our culture today. Storms of rhetoric and conflict swirl around it every day in politics, the arts, business, the media, and especially social media. It is natural and right for Christians to speak in these conversations out of their personal experience, but since we believe that the Bible has the right to interpret our experience and to critique every culture, we must look to it as our final authority.

Yes! "... We must look to (the Bible) as our final authority." And it is toward that point that I want to invite you to read a book with me by John Piper entitled Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian.

I realize that John Piper's book is not the Bible. I am very aware that his book does not speak with the authority that the Bible speaks. We must be people of God's Word first and foremost.

I do believe, however, that John Piper's book will take us into the Bible and help us see and understand what God thinks about issues surrounding race.

The tragic events in our country over the last several weeks have brought the topic of race and racism to the forefront of everyones mind (and our social media feeds!). I want us as a church to think Biblically about these topics and have God's Word inform how we discuss these topics and how we interact on these topics. I want parents - including me! - to have biblical answers for our kids about all of the issues that we see and hear everywhere in our culture and society on these topics. John Piper's book will provide a guide towards this goal.

I would love it if everyone at SOMA would join me in reading this book! But I especially want to invite nine of you to join me for a Growth Group book club. My plan is that we will meet once a week on Tuesday evenings for the months of July & August to discuss the assigned chapters. We will meet in a backyard in person where we will be able to be physically together while practicing the appropriate physical/social distancing. There will also be the option to join via Zoom. Are you interested?

If you are interested please send an email and let me know. I have purchased 9 copies and can offer them to the first 9 people for only $12 each (Amazon is sold out at the moment AND their cost is much higher!). Desiring God's website has a FREE PDF option of the book as well as links to a Kindle version if that suits your reading preference.

Once I hear if there is sufficient interest I'll provide further details. The first Growth Group would be on Tuesday, July 7.

First and foremost - "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). I am reminding myself of this truth over and over and over. I'm reminding my kids of this truth over and over and over. And I want to remind you of this truth over and over and over. I even put it as the opening text on our website for all to see and remember.

Second - the leaders of SOMA love you and are praying for you. Please let us know if you have needs during this time. We are still the body of Christ and we will be the body of Christ during this time.

Third - we are still working on the details for a video/streaming worship service for this Sunday, March 22. Once we have all the details worked out we will communicate. While we can't meet in person we will find a compromise and take advantage of technology. It isn't perfect or ideal, but it is a great compromise.

Fourth - let me encourage all of us with the use of our extended time at home. Neal Brower sent an email this morning to our Western District Pastors and his words say it well:

With our new "social distancing" instructions, I encourage you to do a little more reading, more contemplation, more prayer, more phone calling, and, yes, I'm sure there will be a little more eating and TV watching as well! Let's anticipate that our gospel is always bearing fruit throughout the world (Colossians 1:6), because Jesus is always building his church (Matthew 16:18), and nothing can prevail against it, and the good work is being completed until the day of our great hope (Philippians 1:6)!

Fifth - here is today's "Wednesday Word" from Paul Tripp. Don't let the title discourage your from reading this article. It is a wonderful reminder about fear and how God has given us the ability to fear and it is a good gift from our good God. Please read and consider.

Because God is the God of all grace,

Paul

Please read Pastor Paul's March 12th letter updating the church family - including the decision for SOMA to NOT have Worship Service on Sunday, March 15.

His point is humorously illustrated by the anecdotal parable of a man who was seeking God’s will for his life by opening his Bible and reading whichever verse he saw first.

One day, as he was going through a difficult time with his family, he sought the Lord’s guidance. Opening his Bible, he pointed to a random verse. His finger rested on Matthew 27:5: Then Judas went away and hanged himself. Puzzled by these directions, but still hungry for a word from God, he called a “do-over” and flipped to another page. His eyes settled on Luke 10:37: Go and do likewise. Flustered but chalking it up to coincidence, the man decided to give his method one last chance. Saying a quick prayer, he flipped the page and placed his finger on John 13:27. There, staring up at him, was a command from Jesus: What you are about to do, do quickly.

Never read a Bible verse!

But in 2020 how about reading many verses in the Bible by utilizing a Bible reading plan?

As the New Year approaches I’d like to encourage us a church family to plan our Bible reading. For the last couple of years I have worked my way through the 5 Day Bible Reading Plan. This is a plan that takes the reader through the Bible in one year. There are readings for five days of the week which allows for catch up if necessary. It also puts the Old Testament readings in chronological order. There are handouts available on our Information Table on Sundays or you can click here and download a PDF.

Here is a link to a wonderful summary article that has several different Bible reading plans. Why not set aside 15-20 minutes today or tomorrow and look through this list and the various plans and determine which one might be a fit. Some are simply PDF downloads and print-outs. Some are connected to the YourVersion Bible app for smartphones/tablets.

The Bible is God’s self-revelation. It is the primary way that we get to know the one who made us and loves us and saved us. Let’s read his words to us in 2020.

Change brings a mixture of emotions, and a change in Sunday meeting location is a BIG deal! I’ve had several weeks of seeing the campus and praying about the possibilities. I can honestly tell you that I am excited about the transition and I hope you’ll join me in embracing this change as a wonderful opportunity for SOMA. We are still committed to the mission of making disciples - helping people begin and mature in their relationship with God. We are still committed to our vision - by God’s grace we are becoming a Spiritually transformed community that is actively loving God and loving others in Sonoma County and the world. Moving to Sonoma Avenue will be good for our mission and vision!

Here are a few of our thoughts about SOMA’s move to Sonoma Avenue.

First, as a “church building” the SDA campus is better suited for what we as a church do and seek to do for our Sunday gathering. This includes all of our needs for SOMA kids, the space for our worship service, the space for meals and gatherings, etc. The campus is in good condition and it is kept very clean. Related is the fact that Sonoma Avenue is a great road in terms of the facility being visible and easily accessible and easily found for guests.

Second, we will have access to the SDA campus for other times during the week besides Sundays as we schedule them in cooperation with the SDA Church. We can reserve space for things like the Men’s Deeper Study and our monthly prayer meeting. We can also reserve space for future “special” events like the Questioning Christianity Livestream we are currently hosting.

Third, the SDA campus is still located in downtown Santa Rosa. When SOMA launched as a church in 2008 our desire was to meet on Sundays in downtown Santa Rosa - in close proximity to where Hwy 101 and Hwy 12 intersect. We began at the Courtyard by Marriott off 3rd Street, and since 2010 we have been meeting at Kid Street. The SDA Church is located near the corner of Sonoma Avenue & E Street - 840 Sonoma Avenue. It is less than 1/2 mile from the Old Courthouse Square in downtown Santa Rosa. We will still have plenty of opportunities to be a community for our community and to love our city in many of the same ways that we have in the past. Plus there will be many new opportunities for loving our new neighbors.

It was fun allowing several of you a “sneak peek” at the facility. In the weeks to come we will provide some other opportunities for everyone who is interested to walk through and see the space. We will also let you know when we will begin the process of packing and moving and we would love any help you are able to offer.

If you have questions and comments please reach out.

For the Pastor-Elders,

But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. - Isaiah 66:2

I am praying that because God has graciously given us his self-revelation in the pages of the Bibles we would in fact tremble at his word and read it. And memorize it. And meditate on it. And study it. And share it. And teach it. And obey it.

This year I am using the Five Day Bible Reading Program. I am going old-school this year: I have the reading schedule printed out and I am using my Bible instead of apps on my phone or tablet or computer. Not that I'm against tech. I am just wanting to use my Bible this year. (But I will indeed take advantage of my devices if I need them!)

This post is both an encouragement and a reminder that today is only January 2nd and thus it isn't too late to start a reading plan of your own. If you'd like to join my in the Five Day Bible Reading Program you can click the link above and learn more and also print out schedule. We will also have handouts of the schedule available this coming Sunday morning in our worship service. Here are the readings for Week 1 of January:

• Genesis 1-2; Psalm 19; Mark 1
• Genesis 3-5; Mark 2
• Genesis 6-8; Psalm 104; Mark 3
• Genesis 9-11; Mark 4
• Genesis 12-15; Psalm 148; Mark 5

If you struggle with what you should do when you read your Bible, I would encourage you to read this GREAT post by pastor Scott Sauls. It is very helpful. I plan to use his concise ideas to help my kids in their Bible reading this year.

May we love God more and love others more as we spend time alone with God in his Word in 2019. May we tremble at his Word.

The Virgin Birth
If you like to read I would recommend the classic work by J. Gresham Machen entitled The Virgin Birth of Christ. Kevin DeYoung wrote a WONDERFUL and concise article a couple of years back entitled "Is the Virgin Birth Essential?" I agree with DeYoung that it is and this is a great place to begin pondering the miracle.

Old Testament Prophesies
Several of the faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary have a podcast episode in which they address "Old Testament Fulfillment in the Christmas Story." You can watch and listen and even read a transcript of their discussion.

Sharing Jesus at Christmas
Finally I'd encourage your to take a look at this page from Stand To Reason. They offer several short videos all for the purpose of encouraging us to "Be Prepared to Talk about Jesus This Season."

Jesus on TV
There is a new TV series in production on the life of Christ. You can read a great interview with the creator here, but even better is the Pilot epsidoe that you can watch here! I am very excited about this.

Come To Worship
You might also want to listen or re-listen to one of the sermons in our Christmas 2018 sermon series entitled "Come To Worship."

Because Jesus is the true light that has come into the world (John 1:9) and brought a stop to the decay of sin, he now calls us salt & light - to be these powerful agents in the world. This is our identity as followers of Jesus!

I'm praying that as a church we will live our identity as salt and light into our second decade as a church!

Pastor and author Scott Sauls posted a great article that really helped me think very practically about what being salt and light looks like in practice.

We spent time during the pastoral prayer praying for the crisis affecting so many children and families becasue of the US Imigration issue. Here is a great article from the EFCA (our Association) that has the key prayer points that I mentioned.

We also prayed for the Refugee Crisis around the world as part of National Refugee Sunday. Click here to read and be informed about the amazing work that We Welcome Refugees is doing all over the world.

Songs from 6/24/18

Here are his fourth, fifth, and sixth suggestions for how we can improve our sleep habits. I have discovered that each of these is very important in my own ability to get a good nights sleep.

Media Fast
A friend couldn't figure out why he was finding it difficult to sleep and was waking up frequently with bad dreams. Eventually he admitted he was watching movies just before trying to sleep! If we stimulate our brains (and body chemistry) with email, Facebook, films, TV news, computer games, SportsCenter, caffeine, or other energizers, we're asking for delayed and disturbed sleep---and we'll get it.

Family Cooperation
Noisy late-night teenagers or a wife who prefers to stay up late can make it difficult to establish earlier bedtimes and longer sleep times. A family conference may be necessary to explore ways to help one another make the compromises necessary to secure sufficient sleep for everybody. We have established a ten o'clock noise curfew for Sunday to Thursday nights. On Friday and Saturday, it's eleven o'clock.

Exercise
If we just sit at our desks or in our cars all day and then expect to be tired enough to sleep, we can expect some protests from our bodies: "Hey, you haven't done anything with me yet!" In an experiment at Loughborough University, it was found that exercising between three and six hours before sleep improved sleep.

Which of these three "pills" do you need to consider?