We Moved

See you here

Back To The Caves

Sorry, we do not have any Internet connection for the moment. Therefore we are not able to update the blog nor launch our new website. Be patient, it's coming! :)

YEL

Parodis' Agenda In a Nutshell

Yann:
- is at university this week, having seminaries on the emerging church
- regularly updates our church's blog - Pleroblog - with Lent meditations based on Noel Piper's Lenten Lights
- keeps in touch with the architect on regular basis regarding the important work on the roof this summer (let's hope it won't be postponed!)

Eunice:
- has just finished translating the script of Living Waters' Genius movie into French (for French subtitles)
- has just finished proof-reading her brother's diary of his October trip to Congo with Congo Open Heart
- is currently translating loads of report from Dutch/English into French for the General Assembly of the BEM workers in April
- is currently coordinating the work on the BEM newsletter's next issue
- is currently training her new Dutch-speaking PR colleague - Ciara is a gem!
- is currently preparing the presentation of the BEM to students of the evangelical faculty of Vaux-sur-Seine, near Paris - the promo video is nearly ready, the Prezi presentation needs some improvement
- is working (with Yann) on a new template for our blog - our new address will be www.yeparodi.com

Loïs:
- sits correctly and is not a bit interested in crawling
- makes a lot of new noises and faces
- is now clearly a blondie, after being born a brunette
- looks shy and serious at first sight, but is a talker and a clown
- loves her golden shoes and puts them in her mouth so she won't lose them

Book of The Month

D. PETERSON, Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship

The term 'worship' is often identified with religious activities, such as going to church or singing hymns and songs. Scripture encourages a genuine relationship with God, grounded in a life of personal praise and prayer. 

In this book, Peterson states that worship cannot be defined on the simple observation that the English word 'worship' derives from 'to attribute worth', suggesting that worship is ascribing to God supreme worth. In leading the reader throughout the Old Testament - and the fact that some worship was deemed unacceptable or offensive to God - and the New Testament - in which writers implied that tere are attitudes or activities that do not please God - Peterson gives us key worship terms used in both testaments that can help in a general understanding of the whole theme or doctrine of worship. Worship is not only our response to God, but acceptable worship is a matter of responding in the way that God requires to his initiative in salvation and revelation.

David Peterson's book is therefore no how-t-do-it book, rather a study based on the hypothesis that the worship of the living and true God is essentially an engagement with him on the terms that he proposes and in the way that he alone makes possible.

David Peterson is the principal at Oak Hill Theological College in London.

Editing Work from February 2013

Sorry for not having posted recently. We are currently working on a new template and it takes some time. Besides a lot of things are going on very fast in our lives and 24 hours a day is not enough to catch up.

Eunice's last editing works:

An overview from our Wedding Day and honeymoon in Austria and France. Almost five years ago!

A short video welcoming Jason, our new church member - born February 20th.

Missionary Tips #5

Eunice is currently reading C.J. Mahaney’s Living the Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing and this book is just GREAT. We offered you some missionary tips in the last weeks, but what would they be without a good and healthy spiritual life? Here are some precious advice helping each of us to improve the habit of building our daily lives around the gospel.

Excerpt from chapter 13: The Cross Centered Day

Reminding ourselves of the gospel is the most important daily habit we can establish. If the gospel is the most vital news in the world, and if salvation by grace is the defining truth of our existence, we should create ways to immerse ourselves in these truths every day. No days off allowed. […] But let’s get practical. How do you maintain your cross centeredness in the midst of a busy schedule amid the demands of work and family? Let me share five simple ways I’ve found that help me draw near to the cross each day.

      1.       Memorize the gospel

God wants us to tuck His promises into our hearts so that, no matter where we are or what we’re doing, we can pull them out and be strengthened by their truth. You might not think you’re good at memorizing Scripture. That’s okay. Don’t give up. Work at it. God isn’t keeping score. ... practice ... “strategic Scripture memory”. Start with passages that define and describe the gospel.

-          if you find yourself losing perspective: 2 Corinthians 5:21

-          if you’re struggling with condemnation over a sin you’ve repented and turned away from: Romans 8:31-34

-          key passages over God’s work of salvation through the cross: Isaiah 53:3-6, Romans 3:23-26, Romans 5:6-11, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Galatians 2:21

... the result of this exercise is that your heart will become more sensitized to see the powerful presence of the gospel throughout the Scripture.

2.       Pray the gospel

To pray the gospel, simply begin by thanking God for the forgiveness of sins, purchased through the death of His Son. Acknowledge that Christ’s work on the cross is what makes prayer possible. Thank Him that you’ll never be separated from God’s love because Jesus bore God’s wrath for sin. Thank Him that because of the cross you’re reconciled to God and have been given the Holy Spirit to dwell in you, lead you, guide you and empower you to resist sin and serve God. Then ask God to bless you graciously with everything you need to obey and glorify Him.

3.       Sing the gospel

... choose worship CDs that draw our attention to the amazing truth of what God has done on our behalf. Not all worship songs are created equal; many today ... focus more on what we need or what we want God to do than on what Jesus has already done.... Wherever you find it, make cross centered worship a regular part of your daily routine. There’s no better way to start each day than to employ songs and hymns that speak of the cross with clarity and power.

4.       Review how the gospel has changed you

... we quoted Paul’s remembrance of being “a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” of God, and then his grateful words, “But I received mercy…” Though written some thirty years after he came to faith to Christ, Paul remembered vividly and specifically his many sins prior to his conversion… You and I as well must not forget…. Take time to think about all this. Reflect on it daily…. write out your testimony in a page or two. And don’t just write “I asked Jesus into my heart”, but really spell out the heart of the gospel and how the blood of Christ, shed for the sins of the world, came to apply to you personally. Be specific about the fact that God is holy and you were an object of His wrath. Identify the sin in which you were lost. Explain how God saved you and changed your life for His glory. This will edify and encourage you and prepare you to share both your personal testimony and the truth of the gospel with others.

5.       Study the gospel

To grow in your passion for what Jesus has done, increase your understanding of what He has done…. some practical recommendations for making the gospel an ongoing life-study:

-          Camp out in the books of Romans and Galatians.

-          Don’t be afraid of technical theological terms. Take the time to learn the meanings of such words as atonement, substitution, propitiation, justification, redemption, reconciliation, and salvation.

-          If you have a daily commute, or another regular time when you can listen to audio recordings, obtain cross centered sermons that you can hear and benefit from.

-          Read your whole Bible with your eyes peeled for the gospel. It has been noted that every passage of Scripture – in both the Old and New testaments – either predicts, prepares for, reflects, or results from the work of Christ. As you read the Scripture in your daily devotions, identify how each passage relates to the cross.

-          Make it an annual goal to read or reread at least one book on the cross.

Every time we memorize, pray, sing, review or study the gospel, we must ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and bring the gospel alive to us again. He’s quick to hear and faithful to answer. But His help must be actively sought. 

Just read the entire book. It's worth it!

Missionary Tips #4

Check out the sales from online suppliers of printed and promotional material. For example we received an e-mail from Vistaprint with lots of promotions. Eunice spent one week working on our church's logo and vision, but we now have some marketing material. 

There was 50% off the flyers. We printed 250 of them, in the second best quality, for less than 30 Euro. This flyers will be used for church information/marketing. We put Pleroma's vision and general information on them.

We purchased 250 high quality business cards for less than 4 Euro. We made business cards for our church with general information and a QR code directing to the church's website.

The 140 stickers (for Pleroma again) were free. We'll use them to mark the church's equipment or send letters.

The 25 magnets were free. We made them for people who want to support us as a missionary family. Eunice is not quite statisfied with the printing, but it has to do with the file's resolution. Always use the best resolution.

We are still awaiting a 90X50 cm (free!) banner for Pleroma. This one should arrive in a few days. 

We spared more than 100 Euro and got a lot of marketing material for a song. Isn't it great? 

Piece of advice: always upload in the best resolution and use vector format for logos and artwork (like Adobe Illustrator).