Thursday, September 29, 2011

ACT 4: Be A Trader

We ended our series on the book of Acts this past Sunday with the message "Be a Trader." 


We all make trades every single day. Some trades are great and some are not so good. We can trade in our own agenda to connect with our children or spouse. There are also times we trade in those times for hobbies, facebook or overtime. 


The question that we have to answer is "how is our current trading and investment going?" Are we accomplishing what we want or what God has called us to do? Is what we are trading for really valuable for eternity? What would happen if we traded the American Dream for a life devoted to serving others. What if we traded in moving up the ladder at work for supporting our kids and being there at their events & games. What if we traded in our fear of failure & rejection and took steps of faith in trying new ministries, or building new relationships in our neighborhood. 


Let's become traders! Let's continue the book of Acts and right our own chapter as we follow Jesus on this wild journey!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Act 3: Persecution of the Church

Cornell Jordan came and talked about Acts 5-8 and how the church began to scatter all over because of persecution.

I have the privilege to have 3 daughters and a beautiful loving wife. I am the only guy in a house of 4 girls. Needless to say I've become very aware of how dramatic it can be to comb hair.

Sometimes the girls hair is so tangled they cry when Julie is combing their hair. They want their hair to look good and have all the tangles out but don't like the process.

As we follow Jesus on our faith journey, its very similar. We want the end result of knowing God better, experiencing his presence, love & power yet we often don't like the process.

I'm not sure what you are going through right now and I won't pretend I understand how hard or difficult the pain is. However the one thing I do know is that God is in the amazing business of taking hard times and even pain and making something beautiful out of it if we let him.

Take away: what is one difficult thing in your life right now? How can you surrender it to God and let him make something beautiful out of it? Who can you takl to about what you are going through? How does this change your perspective on the situation?

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Acts "A faith that doesn't play around"

It's been a while since my last blog. Been adapting to having 3 girls and a whole new phase of life :) 


The past 2 weeks we have been going through our series ACTS "A faith that doesn't play around." We gave this series this title for two reasons: #1 the early church didn't play games. They were bold and changing the spiritual climate of their day. Also, we meet in a drama theater that has plays (I know...I'm cheesy) 


Week #1 Pastor Evan spoke from Acts chapter 1-3. He looked at the Holy Spirit and how the Holy Spirit brings Power, Fire, & Rest to our lives. I pray for all us to continually be filled with the Holy Spirit. 


Week #2 I got to speak from Acts 3-4. We talked about how the church was created to prevail not fail. We took an honest look at the church in America and honestly evaluated if it was prevailing or failing. 


We also talked about the 2nd part of our vision Family and unveiled 4 new small groups launching in a few weeks. 
   #1--The Alpha Course (for new believers or for those who
         have a lot of questions about God & faith)

   #2--The Marriage Course (for couples married 1 month
         or 50 years. Will deal with a lot of great topics & 

         issues)
   #3--Tangible Kingdom (how to develop & organize your
         life so you will be more missional & less consumer)

   #4--Understanding Community (the importance & 
          significance of being connected deeper)


There are many ways to achieve the vision of FAMILY. Our plan is not the only way to accomplish the vision. However, we are asking you to come on board and be a part of small groups. Take the next step from faith to family and be a part of the exciting church that God said the gates of hell would not prevail against.