July 5, 2024
Dear Radiant,
Happy Fourth of July a day late! I hope your celebrations were cracking with joy and renewing.
This day reminds me that the human spirit longs for freedom, knows that it is meant for it, and is willing to fight and even die for it.
The American story and ethos springs from this core impulse.
Of course, we can also find this theme woven throughout the holy scriptures.
In fact, the Bible is a story about the ongoing battle between enslavement and freedom:
– Israel is delivered from slavery in Egypt by the hand of the God.
– God returns from exile his people in Babylon.
-The Lord speaks through the prophets against the powers foreign and domestic who would unjustly burden and subjugate his people and take away their freedom.
Yet even so, freedom is often elusive for Israel and for us. There is something in us that is prone to submitting to, in Paul’s words, “a yoke of slavery.”
But the invitation is to now embrace the freedom that is available in Christ.
This is more radical and life changing than the promises of any political revolution.
This is a freedom that comes from God’s fullness. Look at Paul’s stunning words from Colossians 2:9-10:
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.”
What words! What a promise? Like a firework bursting in the night sky.
But the question is how might we live in this fullness in a world of seeming scarcity and enslavement?
Well, join us on Sunday, we’ll ponder Paul’s words and more importantly consider how to live in this reality.
See you Sunday at 5!
SUMMER SCHEDULE KIDS UPDATE:
*For the month of July we will have the Glow group (ages 0-3) but take a break for Shine and 45 degrees Rad. We’re stoked to have them in service.
EVENTS CALENDAR
7/9 – Emotionally Healthy Relationships Course 6:30-8:30PM
7/10 – Women’s Gathering 6-7AM
7/11 – Rad YTH Night 5-8PM
7/11 – Kingdom Coffee Vision and Prayer Night 6:30PM
7/13 – Shine and 45 degrees Rad pool and movie gathering 3PM
7/21 – Linger Worship and Prayer Night 6-10PM
8/18 – Morning Preview Service at Modesto Jr. College Recital Hall – 10AM
9/8 – Second Preview Service at Modesto Junior College Recital Hall – 10AM
10/4-10/6 – Women’s Retreat at Mission Springs *registration now open.
WOMEN’S GATHERING THIS WEDNESDAY 6-7AM
All women welcome — 6-7AM at ELC fellowship hall.
RAD YTH NIGHT JULY 11 5-8PM RAD YTH NIGHT — Rad Youth (6-12th grade) will meet at for a pool party! Invite your friends for a night of fun, food, and good conversation. The gathering will be at 302 Northwood Drive. Hope to see you there!
KINGDOM COFFEE VISION AND PRAYER GATHERING – JULY 11 6:30PM
This is cool. Folks at A Jesus Mission (many of whom are connected at Radiant) are opening a new cafe in Modesto called Kingdom Coffee. This community gathering space aims to “stimulate a culture of generosity, share the hope of the gospel, and cultivate a life giving space.”
Kingdom Coffee is hosting a vision and prayer night on Thursday, July 11 at 6:30PM at their location at 2401 E. Orangeburg #100 (the old Blockbuster video space). All are welcome to come learn more and pray!
Please rsvp here to help with planning!
SHINE AND 45 DEGREES RAD POOL AND MOVIE EVENT, JULY13 
FOLLOW UP FROM THE TOWN HALL MEETING LAST SUNDAY
If you missed the town hall meeting a few weeks back — here are our slides from the evening that explains our thinking.
In short, we are excited to move forward with this experiment as we follow the Holy Spirit into mission and will plan on holding preview services at the MJC recital hall (1130 Stoddard Ave) on 8/18 and 9/8.
If you have any questions — I’m glad to field them. Team leaders will be reaching out soon to those who responded to helping on ministry teams for those dates.
EMOTIONALLY HEALTH RELATIONSHIPS COURSE
TUESDAYS, 6:30-8:30PM JUNE 11 – JULY 28 (8 SESSIONS)
*if you plan on traveling this summer — there a video streaming options for independently completing sessions you miss.
This powerful 8-week Course will equip you with practical tools to really love people in difficult situations and mature into an adult follower of Jesus. The Emotionally Healthy (EH) Relationships Course has been developed over a 21-year period to directly address core biblical principles to guide you and others into an experience of discipleship that will deeply change your life. In the EH Relationships Course, everyone will learn 8 practical relationship skills to develop mature, loving relationships with others.
This will be a paradigm shifting course — sign up here.
UNITE CONFERENCE
We are sending our first contingent of high schoolers to the Unite Conference in San Diego July 15-20. This is a denomination wide, every three years conference for high schoolers. Unite will be “a transformative five-day event filled with powerful worship, engaging youth group sessions, heartfelt prayer, exhilarating afternoon activities, and meaningful acts of service.” We would love to support our students going — if you’d like to contribute to covering costs you can give here and select Unite Conference from the pull down menu.
WOMEN’S CONFERENCE AT MISSION SPRINGS OCTOBER 4-6 2024
BLESSED AND BROKEN: Jesus took the bread, blessed the bread, broke the bread, and gave the bread. These four words not only summarize the life of Jesus but are central to our spiritual lives as well. Join us for an unforgettable weekend with other women where we dive into what it means to live as chosen, blessed, broken, and given children of God. This conference is hosted at Mission Springs conference center in Scotts Valley, CA and will be a gathering of women from many Covenant churches in our region. Register here: https://www.missionsprings.com/camp-event/womens-conference/
BAND APP
One way to connect at Radiant is to join our BAND APP group. Think of this as a sort of Radiant message board — our own little social media space. People can extend invites, share about needs and opportunities.
GIVING
Thank you for your generosity and partnership in Radiant’s ministry!
Here’s the link to online giving.
Grace and Peace!
Zach
