endirect

Slowly...

Perceptual vigilance - we've all experienced it. You buy a car thinking it is unique, then you see the same one everywhere. Our brains want to make sense of the world and once we are awakened to something new we try to find it in other places...

My life has taken and interesting turn of events these past few years. I have become simultaneously aware of both my conceit (yes, even posting this can be seen as feeding that beast) and the suffering caused by the brokeness that I see both outside and in. There are many reasons... a bout with cancer, I'm closer to 50 than 40 with a house full of teenagers. It could also be because things have happened in my work that shine a light on my own failings. Whatever it is I am definately in it and I'm seeing it everywhere. Over the past year I've read books by Dietrich Bonhoffer, Watchman Nee, Richard Lovelace and Richard Rohr. In each of them the same themes kept coming up.

There is the wishful dreamer of Bonhoffer or the man who does not live in dependance on Christ of Nee or the spiritually proud of Lovelace (his writing leans heavily on Jonathan Edwards) or the loyal soldier of Rohr. They all do the same thing. They look to themselves and their abilities. Each of these writers gives the same answer. To undo the pride of our lives we pass through suffering that leads us to dependance on Christ.

One of the things that surprised me the most through this process has been the discovery that so many people are already clued into these truths. In some ways I feel like I'm arriving late to a really great party. To rest in Jesus Christ and his finished work, to see him in the beauty of holiness this is life. And to live this means I've had to slow down.

 

Three blind-spots of the Western Church from Vinoth Ramachandra | Quaerentia

Three blind-spots of the Western Church from Vinoth Ramachandra | Quaerentia

I've been following Mark Meynell for awhile now. Always see good stuff there. This post reminds me of stuff we've been learning here in France. The first point about justice is one I've noticed as I've read my French Bible...

Vinoth Ramachandra points out 3 blind spots he see in the west...

1. Justice is not essential to our gospel.
2. Disunity is not scandalous to us.
3. Mission is not what the western church does abroad.

Special prayer request

Greetings everyone.

This is a quick special request email for something that's
happening in the next few hours...

You learned about Tricia, Nathan and Gwyneth in the update I sent
out this morning.

Tonight at 8pm local time (2pm EST). Tricia, Nathan and Sylvie
will attend the premier of Oxygène, a dramatic film that talks
about the experiences of teenagers who have cystic fibrosis.

When Tricia and Nathan were here last year the met Max Gavi who
heads up the local branch of the French Cystic Fibrosis
Foundation. He invited Tricia and Nathan to the film and has
asked that Tricia share her story. Please pray for Tricia as she
shares and for Sylvie as she translates. Pray also that Tricia's
faith would be understood by those who hear and that they would
be drawn to Jesus.

Thanks

Matt

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Matt and Sylvie's October 2011 update

October 2011































The one thing...

There really is only one thing that matters above all else. It doesn't' matter where you live or what you are doing. It doesn't matter how many times you've heard the message. It all comes down to the one thing: knowing Christ. Mary sat at Jesus' feet. Paul says nothing compares to knowing him.

Over the past few weeks I've been thinking about knowing Christ plays out in my life... I keep coming back to the truth that Christ's life is to be my life, that I live no longer for myself but for him who loved me and give himself for me. When I keep this as my focus it changes my relationships whether they be in our family or in our ministry.

It applies in a big way to you the readers of this newsletter because it gives me the key that unlocks our relationship. Though I do not see you and I know very little of what you are living, I know how to pray for you. May you see the glories of our inheritance in Christ and may you be firmly rooted and grounded in his love. We ask that you pray the same thing for us.

Pray that we may live our lives for Christ, pray also for the churches we serve (International Church of Grenoble and the CEP). Pray for the people in our neighborhood. Pray that all that we say or do would be to the praise of his glory.

Looking ahead...

We are also privileged to have Nathan, Tricia and Gwyneth Lawrenson here in France during the month of October. They've come to serve the churches with their gifts. In the coming weeks they will be helping share the Gospel will our friends.

October 22nd: A hear for our friend, a heart for God - Anastasia and Rachel are organizing another event to share the Gospel with their friends. Tricia Lawrenson will be the speaker.
October 30th: Cafe Concert with Nathan Lawrenson

Nathan and Tricia are from Nags Head Church. They have a unique story of faith, hope and miracles. If you'd like to learn more about them follow this link Confessions of a CF Husband, The Story.

Last summer...

The last time I wrote it was June 20th and I asked you to pray for the Emmaus team and the Fête de la Musique as well as Anastasia's Bac. Her tests went well and gave her a starting point for the other test that will follow at the end of this school year. Please keep her in your prayers. The last year of high school is very stressful. Pray that she will rest in Christ.

The musique festival was a unique experience. In between the raindrops and the deafening sounds of the other bands we sang praises to God.

We were able to return to the States during the months of July and August. We visited a number of churches and had some wonderful times with our family. We were able to visit all of my cousins and their children! The highlight of our family time was the wedding of our nephew Benton Brown to Jordyn Archer. It was our first family wedding. We had a great time!

We received a wonderful gift this summer. Our good friend Nathan Lawrenson took some family photos. You can see them by following this link, Glock family photos by Nathan.

If you'd like to know more about Nathan's photography check out his website, Nathan Lawrenson Photography.

CMML

Have you taken a look at the Christian Missions in Many Lands website? Here's the link, cmml.us. While there you'll discover all that CMML is doing to serve missionaries around the world. There's a profile page for us that has contact information and how you can donate on line. The link is Glock profile.

Also CMML publishes a monthly missions magazine. If you'd like to receive it, here's the link to the sign-up page..

  









©2011

Matthew and Sylvie Glock | 2 rue Champ Rochas | 38240 Meylan | France

CERN neutrinos faster than light? - Achenblog - The Washington Post

The wires — AP and Reuters — say that CERN has detected neutrinos moving at superluminal speed. Which isn’t supposed to be possible. In fact, it’s against the law, physics-wise. Nothing goes faster than light. Light has zero rest mass, and for something to go faster than that it would have to have less than zero rest mass, and now you’re talking science fiction. A neutrino is a particle and it should be subject to the speed limit like everything else.

But at CERN, they’re seeing neutrinos zipping along with the top down, with the drivers drinking roadies and tossing the empties into ditches.

Einstein’s worst nightmare.

via www.washingtonpost.com

Looks like the only thing I can blog about right now is crazy physics stuff. Or better stuff that Joel Achenbach writes about. In any case CERN is 1.5 hour drive to the north of us. Maybe one of those super fast neutrinos will be coming our way...

You gotta love dark matter...

In the 1990s, Kirshner led a team that leveraged this property to make one of the biggest discoveries of the past century: The universe is flying apart, rapidly accelerating.

To explain this, cosmologists were forced into an uncomfortable conclusion. Either gravity does not work the way it is supposed to, or a mysterious force is pushing galaxies apart at a quickening pace. They called this unknown force “dark energy” and have little idea what it is, even though they are able to calculate that it constitutes an astounding 73 percent of all mass and energy in the universe.

via www.washingtonpost.com

I love reading about dark energy. It accounts for 73% of all mass and energy in the universe and we still don't know what it is.

June 2011

June 2011

Write the letter...

I've been telling this to myself for the last few weeks. Important events in our ministry have come and gone... Thank you so much for continuing to pray for us in the absence of information. Often when there is no news that means we need more prayer!

Also today June 20th marks the 20 year anniversary of my arrival in Bristol, England. Wow!

Two important prayer requests...

Fête de la Musique, last year the Milepost 13 Band was with us and joined in the annual street music festival. We had such a great time that the ICG Worship Band is heading to the streets. We will be joined by the Summex France 2011 team from Emmaus Bible College. Please pray that our singing would bring God glory and draw people to Christ. Pray also that we would have good conversations with those who listen.
The Baccalaureat
Anastasia started her exams last Friday, had another today and will have another on June 22nd and finish on July 4th. These 4 grades will be added to the ones when she takes the exams at then end of next school. This is a big deal and a big source of stress as the results of this exams are what decides wether you go on to university or not. I know she appreciates your prayers.

Thank you for praying with us.

The International Church of Grenoble

Church Weekend

It was held at a nearby camp where the director is a potter. He shared with us insights from his experience that made the passages that talk of God as the potter come alive. We also had the privilege of touching the clay. The header photo is Sylvie working on her first vase. The weekend was a great time of fellowship and spending extended time together.

Un cœur pour nos amies, un cœur pour Dieu (A heart for our friends a heart for God)

Anastasia and her friend Rachel are leading this outreach ministry. They invite their friends to a "tea party" where they play games, do activities and share the Gospel with their friends. They've held three events and seen over 40 girls attend at one time or another with 20 of the girls outside the church.

Elders and deacons

Last Sunday we had a church meeting to recognize elders and deacons. This is an important step in the life of our church. We are thankful for all that God is doing in and through us.

New CMML website

Christian Missions in Many Lands have a new website. Here's the link, cmml.us. You'll discover all that CMML is doing to serve missionaries around the world. There's a profile page for us that has contact information and how you can donate on line. This is a new service offered by CMML. All the information is on the website.

  ©2011

Matthew and Sylvie Glock | 2 rue Champ Rochas | 38240 Meylan | France















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That time of the year...

17 years ago Sylvie and I were married. We have been blessed.

 

God's faithfulness

We know that God is faithful. It's highlighted in our Bibles and sung in our songs. Yet there are moments when we see it in action that make us stop and marvel at his faithfulness.

Last Sunday Sylvie and I were taking a walk. In fact we wanted to walk fast and get some exercise. 10 minutes into the walk we stop to talk with a couple we hadn't seen for a couple of years. The hour long conversation ranged from President Obama's Nobel Prize, to health care in the US and France, to cultural differences, to Lectio Divina. That last one raised our eyebrows too. Thankfully through my friendship with Jonny Baker I knew about it and had used variations in our worship at the CEP...

What was clear is this couple, who had once been active at the CEP and then because of a lot of reasons had drifted away from the church and an active expression of their faith, were now rediscovering something. They wanted us to know that their faith was active and growing.

Our encounter pointed towards God's great faithfulness and was not an isolated occurrence last Sunday. God is at work all the time and we have the privilege of seeing it all around us.