Welcome; to CCO MOB!

On behalf of Calvary Chapel Olympia, Pastor Chuck, Pastor Jon, Chris Post (MOB Coordinator), and all those people that work to make the CCO 'Men of the Bible' a reality, I'd like to welcome you to the new 2012-2013 bible study season.

Mark your calendars for September 18th at 7:00 PM for our first meeting. Chris and I will be disseminating lots of helpful information at that meeting, so do your best to attend. There will be no sign up this year for the MOB, but we are planning and hoping for an excellent turnout next week.

This year's fall session will be spent doing an in-depth study of the book of Philippians. The MOB meetings will go in three week cycles. Two weeks we will be studying Philippians, and on the third, we will have guest speakers, testimonials and more. This will not be a boring session, that we can guaranty!

With six weeks of studies for the book of Philippians, we will be overviews of sections that will run a little more than half a chapter at a time, highlighting some of the greater nuggets along the way. I plan to use this blog to share some helpful study notes, and give you all topics to discuss and issues to look at, not just from the point of view of Paul (something I do plan to ficus on), but also with a strong personal application focus. Studying, and learning is great, but as Men of God (or Men of the bible as the case may be!), if we do not plant these truths into our Spirit and live them out in our lives, we are failing to fulfill the purpose for which our lives have been intended: to share the gospel of Christ!

St. Francis of Assisi once said, "Share the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words." The implication is that the gospel message of salvation through Christ needs to be seen in our every day lives, in the things that we do, the way that we act, the events and issues that occupy our time, and not just in words alone. The half-brother of Jesus himself implies the same thing when he says, "faith without works is dead". Either you live it, or you have to begin looking at your dedication to your faith.

This blog is created to give the group an interactive place where we can stay in touch throughout the week, ask questions, review notes (I'll be posting my notes after each session), and keep each other accountable to the MOB Study, and to each other. Other features of this blog:

• You can "subscribe" to the blog by email or RSS feed for your convenience, and to get all the latest posts delivered right to your email.
• A Calendar that will show the next 5 upcoming meetings so you can keep track of your events.
• Comments are active for all posts, allowing you to comment on a post, ask questions etc. 
• Recommended Books for helping you through this study, and giving you more resources to take your study even deeper at home. 
• Helpful links to on-line bible study resources.

I hope you find the blog, and all of its resources helpful to you. Bookmark it and return to it regularly for updates and more information.

Get ready to be challenged. I hope that this study through Philippians urges your Spirit to be more active in your bible study. I hope that is causes you to desire to dig deeper and allow yourself to grow all the more. Most of all, we all hope that MOB will create a new heart, rededicated to God in such a way that growth and accountability become forces that bring you closer to our Savior than ever before.

Sincerely,

Tom Spithaler
Primary Instructor: MOB