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Sin is not a very popular topic. Most
people would rather focus on more
“positive” and “uplifting” things. But
we need to understand sin for three
important reasons. First, without an
understanding of sin we will not under-
stand our own hearts. Within each of our
hearts is a tangle of sinful desires and
understanding those sinful desires helps
us to make sense of our own thoughts,
emotions, and behaviors - why we do
the things we do. Second, without an
understanding of sin we will not under-
stand the grace of God. At the heart of
the gospel is that God has forgiven our
sins through the work of Christ on the
cross. Without an understanding of our
sin, we cannot fully appreciate the
depth of God’s grace to us. Third,
without an understanding of sin we will
not understand how to continue growing
spiritually. John Owen once said, “Be
killing sin or it will be killing you.” So
without an understanding of the “enemy
within” we will not be able to apply the
gospel in our lives and continue to grow
in Christ.
In the fourth century, a pastor named
Evagrius of Pontus (a contemporary of
St. Augustine) gathered a group of
monks and they went out into the desert
to live in a community separated from
the rest of society. They did this because
they believed that by separating them-
selves from the rest of society they
would insulate themselves against all
the evils and vices of the world and be
able to get closer to God. What they
discovered, however, was that they were
not able to separate themselves from sin
– for the simple reason
that sin is not some-
thing that is merely “out
there” in the world; it is
something that resides
in each one of us. As
Evagrius reflected more
deeply on this, he began
to notice that certain there were
certain sinful tendencies that seemed
to plague the human heart consis-
tently. More than that, they seemed to
be like fountainheads from which all
other sins flow. These eventually
became known as the ‘seven deadly
sins’ in the sixth century. Ever since,
they have become a valuable
diagnostic for helping people see,
understand, and defeat the darkest
desires in their hearts.
Since that time, they have had a vivid
history. In the early 14th century, the
Italian poet Dante used them as an
organizing element in his long
narrative poem, “The Divine Comedy”
as he imaginatively described the
horrors of hell. Later that century
Geoffrey Chaucer has the parson
preach a sermon on them in his
“Canterbury Tales.” In John Bunyan’s
famous “Pilgrim’s Progress,” the sins
become personified. And though some
of the Protestant Reformers in the
16th century shied away from them
because they could not be found all
together anywhere in Scripture, most
Protestants as well as Catholics have
found them immensely useful and
biblical. After all, in the Sermon on the
(continued on page 2)
The Gospel and the Seven Deadly Sins: Gluttony Philippians 3:17-21
The Gospel and the Seven Deadly Sins: Lust 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
The Gospel and the Seven Deadly Sins: Greed 1 Timothy 6:6-10
The Gospel and the Seven Deadly Sins: Sloth Proverbs 6:6-11
Mount Jesus traces murder back to the root
sin of anger and adultery back to the root sin
of lust. The other sins on the list – gluttony,
envy, sloth, greed, and pride – can be traced in
similar ways in other parts of Scripture.
Even today they are an enormously helpful
diagnostic to understand our own hearts.
William Willimon once observed that one of
the initially strange things about the seven
deadly sins is that don’t really seem that
deadly. We would expect a list of deadly sins
to include things like political tyranny, ethnic
hatred, war and violence, and corporate
injustice. But things like envy and lust and
anger – they seem so ordinary and pervasive
and even relatively harmless in the grand
scheme of things. But, as Willimon points out,
that is exactly why they are so deadly. Because
they appear innocuous we can fail to see just
how terrible a threat they are. Not only that,
but the fact that they are so
ordinary, so pervasive, and so
entrenched in our hearts, they can
be that much harder to shake. Most
people don’t find it particularly
difficult to stop committing murder;
overcoming their anger, however, is
a whole different matter.
In that sense, they are not only a helpful
diagnostic to understand our hearts and why
it is we do the things we do. They are also a
helpful place to go to see the true power of
the gospel. After all, there are a lot of things
we can do in our own strength. But we simply
cannot defeat envy or pride or lust with our
own willpower. So by looking at these root
sins, we are able to see with particular clarity
how the gospel can actually change us in
those very places where we ourselves are
powerless to change.
So, this Lenten season we will be looking at
the seven deadly sins but not out of a dark or
morbid curiosity to dwell on evil - but for the
purpose of understanding how the gospel
goes deeper than our behavior to change us
at the place of our deepest desires. Each
week we will look at one of the seven deadly
sins and then apply the gospel to each of
them, to show how Jesus roots out that
particular vice and replaces it with its
opposite virtue. May this season leading up
to Easter be a time when God does something
in each of our hearts that is far beyond what
we might think or imagine and may we
discover just how powerful the gospel is in
our lives.
Brookdale News is a
monthly publication of
Brookdale Church
203 South 31st Street
St. Joseph, MO 64501
Phone: 816-279-0983
Fax: 816-279-7684
Website:
www.brookdalechurch.com
Editor: Terri Lansbury
E-mail:
terri@brookdalechurch.com
Put on your best party dress and
join us for a fun time of
Tea, Treats, Tokens and Treasures (From the Bible)
Feel free to bring your BFF and/or a stuffed animal
We will party from 2:00pm-3:30pm
Saturday March 18th
Just come to Brookdale Church (31st & Edmond) Fellowship Hall
All girls ages 4 - 4th Grade are welcome
We will look at God’s love for us and others,
Make crafts and enjoy some goodies.
Hope to see you there, it will be so much fun!
“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example,
that you should follow in his footsteps.” (1 Peter 2:21)
On Wednesday March 1st @ 7pm I will be hosting an all city youth event for middle
and high school students at the SMC, challenging them as to their purpose here on
earth. This will be the kickoff to promoting
the “Beyond Sunday” conference that will
be held April 7-8.
I, along with youth directors from six other
churches, are putting this event on to
challenge our students to take their faith
beyond the confines of youth group or
Sunday school and to really be an inten-
tional generation out to follow in the
footsteps of Christ. This will be a night of
fun and worship with an actual worship
band..yay!! If you know of any students
who might be interested please let them
know about this upcoming event!!
A group of about 50
kids and adults tested
their skills at Bode Ice
Arena on February
22nd. Everyone had a
blast playing on the ice!
Brookdale had a long
relationship with
Frontier Fellowship
and its Associate
Director, Dan
McNerney before officially including them in
our list of supported ministries. They are doing
incredible work with the unreached throughout
the world. I want to share just a bit of the
history of this organization — I’m sure you’ll
understand why we are pleased to have them as
one of our outreach partners.
Frontier Fellowship traces its beginnings back to
a kitchen table in Portland, Oregon, in 1981. It
was there Ralph Winter, renowned missiologist
who pioneered the unreached people groups
movement, imparted his vision to revive a
frontier missions focus within the United
Presbyterian Church to Harold Kurtz, longtime
missionary in Southwest Ethiopia. Both men
were driven by a desire to see the Gospel shared
in culturally honoring ways among every distinct
ethnic group in the world and to encourage the
Body of Christ to engage more deeply in God’s
mission to the unreached.
United Presbyterian Frontier Fellowship was
started, and was soon renamed Presbyterian
Frontier Fellowship. Today they’re simply known
as Frontier Fellowship, deeply rooted in their
strong legacy and continuing to look toward the
frontier of missions where the Good News of
Jesus has yet to find expression. They believe
His message is for everyone, and each person
deserves the opportunity to hear the Gospel in
the context of his or her own culture.
To that end, Frontier Fellowship is committed
to its call to mobilize the Church—inviting,
educating, inspiring, gathering and equipping
followers of Jesus to embrace the unique and
important role God has given each of us to make
His name known among every nation, tribe,
people and language.
THE VISION:
For every people: an indigenous church
For every church: a mission vision
This vision describes a two-fold conviction: that
God desires to be worshipped by all peoples
through culturally unique expressions of faith
and the global church is called to unity and
participation in sharing the Good News of Jesus
with the world’s 6,500 distinct ethnic groups
who still have little or no access to that message.
THE MISSION:
As part of God’s mission to the world, we invite
believing communities to engage people groups
where the Good News of Jesus and His Kingdom is
not yet known.
Rev. Dan McNerney,
Associate Director
Dan’s calling to
frontier mission led
him from working
as an agriculture
commodities trader
after graduating from
Yale to serving as a
church planter in
Costa Rica during the early 1980s. Following
his return from Costa Rica in 1985, Dan pursued
his Master of Divinity degree from Trinity
Evangelical Divinity School and became an
ordained minister.
Dan has been on staff with Frontier Fellowship
for over 20 years and has pioneered work in
Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. He’s
currently engaged in Middle Eastern mission
initiatives, counsel and mobilization for American
churches’ missional practices and bridge-building
efforts with Muslim leaders and communities in
the U.S.
We look forward to sharing more about Frontier Fellowship and all of our other outreach partners in future newsletters!
1 - Deborah Birr 3 - Mike O’Donnell 5 - Kamille Paden 6 - Teresa Fetter 8 - David Bolander, Mike Seever 9 - Walt Ashler, Chance Dahle 14 - Jill Blazer, Connie Decker 15 - Mike Hanlan, Cole Peterson, Don Weckerlin 16 - Zachary Decker 17 - Cait Parker, Pat Wyckoff 18 - Ellen Beier 20 - Troy Hague, Kristen Schaeffer 21 - Josiah Halvorsen
22 - Delores Hendrix, Doug Walley 23 - Vickie Bartelt, Mel Hagan, Kai Nightingale 24 - Carrie Blazer 27 - Julia Beier 29 - Scott Nelson 31 - Christian Hoffman, Owen Jones, Rick Thornton April 1 - Hilda Bell, Kristin Lemon 2 - Stanley Viestenz 3 - Lindsey Wyble 4 - Andrew Schweder
On behalf of Brookdale Deacons, thank you for your wonderful support of the St. Joseph Pregnancy Resource Clinic (PRC), in
recognition of Sanctity of Life Sunday. It was such a joy to witness the outpouring of love from our first ever diaper drive!
Know that your donations of diapers, wipes, clothes and
supplies will assist our neighbor in their Christian outreach to young families.
PRC’s mission is to eliminate the need for abortion in our region
through effective, Christ-like service to women experiencing
crisis pregnancies. Through Willowbrook Women’s Center, pregnancy testing, ultrasound, and STD testing are available free
of charge. Those medical services are so important. An ultra-
sound allows a mom to see and hear a heartbeat; she can suddenly recognize an “it” as a “baby.”
PRC is there to follow up with Christian counsel and options, including parenting classes. They encourage
healthy, life-affirming decisions. PRC also offers confidential support groups for women recovering from
post-abortion experiences. And every person who walks through their doors - moms, dads, family - also
hear the good news story of the gospel.
In 2016, PRC served 231 women in a 13 county area with medical services and parenting classes. And 166 babies were born to women who came through their clinic! We can also make a difference through our continued help - with prayer, volunteer opportunities, fundraising events and monthly monetary support. For more information, check out stjosephprc.org or their Facebook page, St. Joseph PRC. We will also keep
a donation box handy, in the lower level, to make ongoing deliveries of diapers, baby clothes and maternity
wear for their boutique. Look for the “Brookdale for Babies” sign!
If you were at our Annual Celebration the end of January, I’m sure you took notice of all the wonderful desserts. I don’t mean cakes, pies and cookies in large pans. I mean a large
assortment of decadent, tasty, individual desserts, ALL prepared by Tonette Eagleburger! A HUGE thank
you for all her work preparing desserts for 200 people! I just wish I had taken a picture in the kitchen during prep time!
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Each month our senior adults plan an event at the church or
an outside activity (day trip). In February, Marshall White
from the St. Joe News Press was the guest speaker at a
Valentine Lunch. He shared some of his postcard collection
with the group, telling a bit about their origins and the history
of the places depicted on them.
On March 17th the group will have their annual Baked Potato
Bar in Fellowship Hall. For the program, they plan to watch
a video about the Pony Express. Anyone interested in
attending should sign up at the Welcome Center by Sunday,
March 12th.
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