A link worth looking at...

Dear Antioch Church Family,

I trust you have enjoyed a blessed holiday season!

I am really looking forward to our annual 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting beginning January 1st. God always meets with us as we set aside this time to seek His face, but I feel an extra sense of urgency regarding it this year, poised as we are on the beginning of an entirely new season of ministry in our new church campus in the heart of downtown. 

The cry of my heart is that God will help us raise up a truly Gospel-preaching, Christ-exalting church that is filled with His manifest presence, characterized by the working of His Holy Spirit power, and always faithful to His infallible Word! In that vein, while I don't recall ever forwarding an article to our entire church mailing list, when I came across one this morning by Steve Hill entitled, "7 Great Lies in the Church Today," I wanted to bring it to your attention. It made me think of the words the Apostle Paul wrote to young pastor Timothy,

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4 NIV)

I found it very stirring and thought-provoking. I encourage you to take the time to read it and reflect on it by clicking here.

Teresa and I love you and look forward to all that God has in store for us all at Antioch Church. The best is yet to come...!

Pastor Mark

P.S. According to the latest word from our General Contractor, we expect to be able to hold our first service in our new church home on the West End DART Rail station on Sunday, February 16th, with our formal Dedication Service during the month of March! Be sure to mark your calendar!

A very special update about our new church campus

Monday, November 25, 2013

Dear Antioch Church Family,

What an exciting time it is at Antioch Church! We have so much to be grateful for as we enter this Thanksgiving season!

Now that we have secured financing for the remaining portion of the first phase of our new church campus project, work is moving ahead quite rapidly.The latest word I have from Steve Howard, our General Contractor, is that he expects us to be able to hold our first worship service in our new church home within the first few weeks of the New Year. Click on the photo above to watch a brief, online video update.

The credit arrangements we have made with our bank provide us with funds to pay for the actual physical remodel of the first floor of the building itself. In order to begin using our new facility, we will also need funds for what architects call “fixtures and furnishings.” These include such things as chairs and a basic audiovisual system for the multi-purpose space we will use for our worship services and other public ministry events; furniture for our atrium and ladies lounge areas, including the coffee shop that will be open throughout the week in our lobby; external signage on the building; and equipment for our Children’s Ministry area, featuring a first-class indoor playland.

Instead of immediately borrowing the approximately $150,000 in additional funds we will need to pay for these items, I am calling upon you and every member of our church family to join Teresa and me in giving the most generous donation each of us possibly can toward this amount between now and December 15th. Every dollar we give toward this goal will directly reduce the amount of our overall indebtedness and the amount of our monthly debt service payments going forward. Everything we are able to contribute toward our Give to Grow campaign between now and then will be applied to this goal. This includes any remaining payments made toward earlier Give to Grow pledges.

I am so very thankful to all of you for the way you have faithfully stood by our church with your tithes and with the offerings you have already given toward our new building. Our church is infused with fresh excitement and new momentum. We are headed towards the “downhill stretch” of our capital campaign towards the “finish line,” when we will begin worshipping and ministering in our beautiful new church home.

As I given thanks to God for your commitment to our congregation and its ministries, the following Scripture came to my heart and spirit as a promise from Him to you,

God is always fair. He will remember how you helped his people in the past and how you are still helping them. You belong to God, and he won’t forget the love you have shown his people. (Hebrews 6:10 CEV)

Teresa and I love you and thank God for the privilege of serving you. We look forward to seeing you at our Thanksgiving morning outreach to needy families in West Dallas and during our worship service this coming Sunday as I preach a special message from my latest series entitled, “How to Steward the Fulfillment of the Dream.”

The very, very best is yet to come for Antioch Church! My prayer for you is that God’s most bountiful blessings would be upon your entire family during this holiday season and throughout the coming year in proportion to the sacrifices you have made to see this vision become reality!

Pastor Mark

Zing...! Ouch...! Wow...! (Mark Rutland's response to John MacArthur)

As Starbucks was working its wonder, waking up my body this morning, theological polemics in this article (http://www.charismanews.com/opinion/41499-john-macarthur-cessation-theology-and-trainspotting-for-cave-dwellers) jolted my brain awake...and brought back to mind a snippet I once heard concerning the "Blind Men and the Elephant" poem,

"So oft in theologic wars
The disputants, I ween
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of elephants they have never seen!"

Here is the text of the poem itself, by John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887),

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation Might satisfy his mind.

 The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant
Is very like a WALL!" 

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, "Ho, what have we here,
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a SPEAR!" 

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a SNAKE!" 

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee
"What most this wondrous beast is like
Is mighty plain," quoth he:
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant
Is very like a TREE!" 

The Fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most;
Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant
Is very like a FAN!" 

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than seizing on the swinging tail
That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant
Is very like a ROPE!" 

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
And all were in the wrong!

http://tinyurl.com/m3fzhk

Give to Grow Building Update, July 14, 2013

Give to Grow Building Update, June 21, 2013

Construction has begun...!

A special message from Teresa and me...

A Prayer prompted by our Presidents...

May the kind words our five living Presidents had for each other yesterday somehow permeate the soul of our people, civilize our political dialogue, and become a prophetic precursor to a kinder, gentler America...!

We've got the wind in our sails at Antioch Church...!

Christ is risen...! He is risen indeed...!

Praising God Our Missionary Is Safe!

We are so thankful God answered prayer and that our missionary to Mexico, Kyle Bauer, and his family are safe! Here's a link to WFAA's news item from last night's 10PM news. You can read more by clicking on the following link: http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Missionary-Kidnapped-in-Mexico-Freed-198716461.html

Friday, March 8th

Dear Antioch Church Family,

Have you ever been betrayed?

Was it difficult for you to understand why or how it happened? Is it still very painful to think about? 

Jesus knows what betrayal feels like. Judas, one of His closest friends and associates, brutally betrayed Him at one of the most vulnerable and crucial moments of His life. Jesus went through it for you and me. He wants to heal our pain and help us make sense of what we have experienced.

This weekend, during my first sermon in my new, "Vintage Jesus," series, I am going to be talking about what happened to our Lord at the Last Supper, just before He went to the cross. Together, we are going to learn lessons from His life with the power to transform ours.

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday!

Pastor Mark

P.S. DON'T FORGET TO SET YOUR CLOCK FORWARD ONE HOUR ON SATURDAY NIGHT AS WE "SPRING FORWARD" INTO DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME...!

This Sunday is Vision Sunday! Great news about our building!

How do I know Jesus is the way?

How Do I Know God Is Good?