Holly made this AMAZING video for Nathaniel's Dedication Service...
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
God's Olympics: Committment
Our Celebration Service last Sunday was quite Dramatic!
There wasn't a dry eye during Nathaniel Mesfin's Video and Dedication!
And, at the close of service Jean Peters fell in the back of the sanctuary and broke his clavical!
As we closed the service with worship songs, the ambulance came and rushed him away!
Well, atleast we aren't a boring church!!!
Here's the notes from the first sermon of my new sermon series...
I doubt you will hear this crazy joke in any other church...we aren't uptight we know how to have FUN...
An old, blind cowboy wanders into an all-girl biker bar by mistake.He finds his way to a bar stool and orders some coffee.After sitting there for a while, he yells to the waiter, 'Hey, you wanna hear a blonde joke?'The bar immediately falls absolutely silent. In a very deep, husky voice, the woman next to him says, 'Before you tell that joke, Cowboy, I think it is only fair, given that you are blind, that you should know five things:1. The bartender is a blonde girl with a baseball bat.2. The bouncer is a blonde girl.3. I'm a 6-foot tall, 175-pound blonde woman with a black belt in karate. 4. The woman sitting next to me is blonde and a professional weight lifter.5. The lady to your right is blonde and a professional wrestler.'Now, think about it seriously, Mister. Do you still wanna tell that joke?'The blind cowboy thinks for a second, shakes his head, and mutters,'Nope... Not if I'm gonna have to explain it five times.
If you’re angry with me right now cause you’re a blonde, be mad at our board member: Bob Robertson, he’s the one that sent me the funny email…
Today we begin a new sermon series entitled GOD’S OLYMPICS…
Obviously, if you don’t have your head stuck in the sand, you know that NBC begins their coverage in just a few days of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games from Beijing, China…
Every 4 years the world comes together for this extraordinary event! This celebration of more than 200 countries provides an opportunity to honour and to learn from one another.
The moments we witness are priceless! Like the time the sweet smile of a 17-year-old Russian girl named Olga taught us that our differences weren’t as great as they seemed. Or when a father and his injured son finished a race together and defined determination. Ya’ll know I’m pretty disgusted with what’s going on in the media, but this is one area the TV culture has made a positive difference…
I educated myself this week on the phenomena that is the Olympic Games. How did people study before the internet? It was Pierre de Coubertin (I’m sure I just massacred his name) of France who dreamt up this ambitious project…obviously drawing inspiration from the ancient Olympic Games, Pierre decided to create the modern Olympic Games, and founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894 in Paris. This new committee set itself the objective of organizing the first Olympic Games of modern times. The date of the first Games, 1896, marked the beginning of an extraordinary adventure that has now lasted for over a century!
Pierre defined Olympism; he had four principles that were far from defining a simple sports competition:
He was convinced that sport was the springboard for moral energy and he defended his idea with rare tenacity.
It was religion to him…
1. to adhere to an ideal of a higher life, to strive for perfection…
2. to represent the elite but at the same time practice chivalry with its moral qualities…
3. to create a truce, a four-yearly festival of the springtime of mankind…
4. and to glorify beauty by the involvement of the philosophic arts in the games…
Wouldn’t it be something, if Christians had the same kind of commitment to the church that Pierre had to sports??
If you do much study into the ancient Olympic Games you begin to wonder why in the world your pastor would do a sermon series linked to greek mythology…
Actually it’s not my fault…the apostle Paul is to blame!
But we’ll talk about this much more in the weeks to come…
Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games, is in the western part of the Peloponnese which, according to Greek mythology, is the island of Pelops, the founder of the Olympic Games. Imposing temples, votive buildings, elaborate shrines and ancient sporting facilities were combined in a site of unique natural and mystical beauty…
Olympia functioned as a meeting place for worship and other religious and political practices as early as the 10th century B.C. The central part of Olympia was dominated by the majestic temple of Zeus, with the temple of Hera parallel to it. The ancient stadium in Olympia could accommodate more than 40,000 spectators, while in the surrounding area there were auxiliary buildings which developed gradually up until the 4th century B.C. and were used as training sites for the athletes or to house the judges of the Games.
The ancient Olympic Games included the following events:
(I hope I’m not boring you with this stuff…I found it fascinating)
Running: the stade race was the pre-eminent test of speed, covering the Olympia track from one end to the other…
Jumping: Athletes used stone or lead weights called halteres to increase the distance of a jump. They held onto the weights until the end of their flight, and then jettisoned them backwards…
Discus throw: the discus was originally made of stone and later of iron, lead or bronze…
Wrestling: this was highly values as a form of military exercise without weapons. It ended only when one of the contestants admitted defeat…
Boxing: Boxers wrapped straps around their hands to strengthen their wrists and steady their fingers. Initially, these straps were soft but, as time progressed, boxers started using hard leather straps, often causing disfigurement of their opponent’s face…
Equestrian events: these included horse races and chariot races…
There were other sports that I wouldn’t be able to explain very well, being that they were ancient and I’m not much of an athlete myself…
But, don’t make fun of your pastor yet, I’ve been enjoying tennis, volleyball, and softball this summer…the daras are cooking up a RRAG softball team for the church league…who’s game???
If you got my postcard in the mail, you know that today we are focusing on COMMITMENT
Obviously it takes a generous supply of Commitment to become a successful Olympian…
The question I think the LORD put in my heart for today’s msg is…HAVE YOU FOUND SOMETHING WORTH COMMITTING YOUR LIFE TO?
I mean, we’re all committed to something…wether it be making money for acquiring things, which of course means nothing, has no lasting impact…or maybe your committed to family, which definitely has its benefits and headaches…
BUT HAVE YOU FOUND SOMETHING WORTH LIVING FOR? COMMITTING EVERYTHING TO? SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOUR HEART BEAT, PURPOSE, PASSION??
I know I have…my life is committed to Jesus Christ and the building of His Church…no matter how much it hurts sometimes…anything worth committing to will test your pain limits…
In the Montreal Olympic Games, 1976
After severely breaking his knee during the floor exercise, Japan's Shun Fujimoto ignored his injury as long as possible, knowing such news could shatter the confidence of his teammates.
The injured gymnast continued on to the pommel horse routine, miraculously scoring a 9.5 out of 10. He then faced the rings, which would be his final event of the day. Shun performed extraordinarily, ignoring the inevitable consequences of dismounting from eight feet off the ground. Upon completion of his routine, he hurled himself into a beautifully executed triple-somersault dismount.
When his feet hit the floor, the pain sliced through him like a knife, but he kept his balance. Gritting his teeth, he raised his arms in a perfect finish before collapsing in agony. He was awarded a 9.7, the highest score he had ever recorded on the rings. After winning the closest gymnastics team competition in Olympic history, Shun joined his team at the podium to receive his gold medal, and he did it without assistance.
The apostle Paul was probably referring to the ancient Olympic Games in 1 Cor. 9:24-27
Isn’t it interesting that today at RRAG we are learning truth from a current event that was also a current event in Biblical times??
In Paul’s day the Olympic victor received his first awards immediately after the competition. Following the announcement of the winner’s name by the herald, a greek judge would place a palm branch in his hands, while the spectators cheered and threw flowers to him. Red ribbons were tied on his head and hands as a mark of victory.
The official award ceremony would take place on the last day of the Games. In a loud voice, the herald would announce the name of the Olympic winner, his father’s name and his homeland. Then the greek judge placed the sacred olive tree wreath on the winner’s head…
Paul says, we run this Christian race in need of much discipline, trying to obtain a crown that isn’t simply made of a perishable tree branch but a crown that will last forever in heaven!
Yes, the Christian must practice discipline, but I have found out that if I am truly in a love relationship with Jesus it doesn’t always feel like discipline…it’s loads of fun too…
Harry Park said that as a coach, you don’t really need to do anything to push the athletes to compete. By and large, they love their sports and with a little positive reinforcement they keep doing it. In the scheme of things, he doesn’t really see the Olympic as a huge sacrifice and believes that players are often motivated in part because they indulge in it – whether their support comes from their families or the military as in his case. In the end, they compete at the highest level they can and the ones who really enjoy it get the best reinforcement…
I read this coaches words and suddenly it dawned on me…Why is it that the American church is shrinking and fragmented? Why is it that pastors all feel like they just keep hitting a brick wall and struggle with their own attitudes? HELLO…we need to fall in love with Jesus and his Church again! The American church needs to hear again from Revelations 2…the same warning for the church in Ephesus…YOU HAVE LEFT YOUR FIRST LOVE…We always come back to it don’t we…It’s all about LOVE!
Does your life reflect Christ as your FIRST LOVE?
Americans are committed to so many things, BUT are we committed to Christ and His church?
During the almost 5 years of being your pastor I have been amazed at the uncommitted behavior of Christians…
But, I don’t want to start lecturing so I will move on…
I can’t fix it that way…He’s gotta fix it…so I’ll get on my knees…
We are all athletes in God’s Olympics…If we are Running the race of the Christian life, COMMITMENT is an important ingredient to success…
Most speed-skating victories come down to 1/100th of a second. This one took over a decade. Of all the Olympic stories that teach us about perseverance and commitment, very few are as memorable as that of Dan Jansen. The world first met Jansen at the '84 Games in Sarajevo, when the relatively unknown American placed an impressive 4th in the 500-metre race. By Calgary in '88, he was favored to win the 500- and 1,000-metre races. But life had other plans.
Jansen's sister had been suffering from leukæmia and died just minutes before race time. In his final conversation with her, he promised to win in her honour. But instead Jansen fell. Not just once, but in both races. He left Calgary empty-handed. Four years later Jansen was again favoured to win, this time in Albertville. But after a disappointing performance, he again left without a medal.
In 1994, Jansen prepared for his fourth Olympic Games, in Lillehammer. He knew it would be his last chance and hoped he could put his past behind him once and for all. But on his first race, to the horror of everyone watching, Jansen slipped yet again during the 500 and finished 8th. Only one race remained. The last of his career.
Four days after that unfortunate fall, the starting gun sounded for the start of the 1,000. And everything magically fell into place. A decade of disappointment suddenly was erased as Jansen took first place and set a new world record. During the victory lap, he picked up his daughter and carried her around the ice. They had named her Jane, in honour of his late sister. The perfect ending to a story that has become an inspiration to athletes around the world.
There wasn't a dry eye during Nathaniel Mesfin's Video and Dedication!
And, at the close of service Jean Peters fell in the back of the sanctuary and broke his clavical!
As we closed the service with worship songs, the ambulance came and rushed him away!
Well, atleast we aren't a boring church!!!
Here's the notes from the first sermon of my new sermon series...
I doubt you will hear this crazy joke in any other church...we aren't uptight we know how to have FUN...
An old, blind cowboy wanders into an all-girl biker bar by mistake.He finds his way to a bar stool and orders some coffee.After sitting there for a while, he yells to the waiter, 'Hey, you wanna hear a blonde joke?'The bar immediately falls absolutely silent. In a very deep, husky voice, the woman next to him says, 'Before you tell that joke, Cowboy, I think it is only fair, given that you are blind, that you should know five things:1. The bartender is a blonde girl with a baseball bat.2. The bouncer is a blonde girl.3. I'm a 6-foot tall, 175-pound blonde woman with a black belt in karate. 4. The woman sitting next to me is blonde and a professional weight lifter.5. The lady to your right is blonde and a professional wrestler.'Now, think about it seriously, Mister. Do you still wanna tell that joke?'The blind cowboy thinks for a second, shakes his head, and mutters,'Nope... Not if I'm gonna have to explain it five times.
If you’re angry with me right now cause you’re a blonde, be mad at our board member: Bob Robertson, he’s the one that sent me the funny email…
Today we begin a new sermon series entitled GOD’S OLYMPICS…
Obviously, if you don’t have your head stuck in the sand, you know that NBC begins their coverage in just a few days of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games from Beijing, China…
Every 4 years the world comes together for this extraordinary event! This celebration of more than 200 countries provides an opportunity to honour and to learn from one another.
The moments we witness are priceless! Like the time the sweet smile of a 17-year-old Russian girl named Olga taught us that our differences weren’t as great as they seemed. Or when a father and his injured son finished a race together and defined determination. Ya’ll know I’m pretty disgusted with what’s going on in the media, but this is one area the TV culture has made a positive difference…
I educated myself this week on the phenomena that is the Olympic Games. How did people study before the internet? It was Pierre de Coubertin (I’m sure I just massacred his name) of France who dreamt up this ambitious project…obviously drawing inspiration from the ancient Olympic Games, Pierre decided to create the modern Olympic Games, and founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894 in Paris. This new committee set itself the objective of organizing the first Olympic Games of modern times. The date of the first Games, 1896, marked the beginning of an extraordinary adventure that has now lasted for over a century!
Pierre defined Olympism; he had four principles that were far from defining a simple sports competition:
He was convinced that sport was the springboard for moral energy and he defended his idea with rare tenacity.
It was religion to him…
1. to adhere to an ideal of a higher life, to strive for perfection…
2. to represent the elite but at the same time practice chivalry with its moral qualities…
3. to create a truce, a four-yearly festival of the springtime of mankind…
4. and to glorify beauty by the involvement of the philosophic arts in the games…
Wouldn’t it be something, if Christians had the same kind of commitment to the church that Pierre had to sports??
If you do much study into the ancient Olympic Games you begin to wonder why in the world your pastor would do a sermon series linked to greek mythology…
Actually it’s not my fault…the apostle Paul is to blame!
But we’ll talk about this much more in the weeks to come…
Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games, is in the western part of the Peloponnese which, according to Greek mythology, is the island of Pelops, the founder of the Olympic Games. Imposing temples, votive buildings, elaborate shrines and ancient sporting facilities were combined in a site of unique natural and mystical beauty…
Olympia functioned as a meeting place for worship and other religious and political practices as early as the 10th century B.C. The central part of Olympia was dominated by the majestic temple of Zeus, with the temple of Hera parallel to it. The ancient stadium in Olympia could accommodate more than 40,000 spectators, while in the surrounding area there were auxiliary buildings which developed gradually up until the 4th century B.C. and were used as training sites for the athletes or to house the judges of the Games.
The ancient Olympic Games included the following events:
(I hope I’m not boring you with this stuff…I found it fascinating)
Running: the stade race was the pre-eminent test of speed, covering the Olympia track from one end to the other…
Jumping: Athletes used stone or lead weights called halteres to increase the distance of a jump. They held onto the weights until the end of their flight, and then jettisoned them backwards…
Discus throw: the discus was originally made of stone and later of iron, lead or bronze…
Wrestling: this was highly values as a form of military exercise without weapons. It ended only when one of the contestants admitted defeat…
Boxing: Boxers wrapped straps around their hands to strengthen their wrists and steady their fingers. Initially, these straps were soft but, as time progressed, boxers started using hard leather straps, often causing disfigurement of their opponent’s face…
Equestrian events: these included horse races and chariot races…
There were other sports that I wouldn’t be able to explain very well, being that they were ancient and I’m not much of an athlete myself…
But, don’t make fun of your pastor yet, I’ve been enjoying tennis, volleyball, and softball this summer…the daras are cooking up a RRAG softball team for the church league…who’s game???
If you got my postcard in the mail, you know that today we are focusing on COMMITMENT
Obviously it takes a generous supply of Commitment to become a successful Olympian…
The question I think the LORD put in my heart for today’s msg is…HAVE YOU FOUND SOMETHING WORTH COMMITTING YOUR LIFE TO?
I mean, we’re all committed to something…wether it be making money for acquiring things, which of course means nothing, has no lasting impact…or maybe your committed to family, which definitely has its benefits and headaches…
BUT HAVE YOU FOUND SOMETHING WORTH LIVING FOR? COMMITTING EVERYTHING TO? SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOUR HEART BEAT, PURPOSE, PASSION??
I know I have…my life is committed to Jesus Christ and the building of His Church…no matter how much it hurts sometimes…anything worth committing to will test your pain limits…
In the Montreal Olympic Games, 1976
After severely breaking his knee during the floor exercise, Japan's Shun Fujimoto ignored his injury as long as possible, knowing such news could shatter the confidence of his teammates.
The injured gymnast continued on to the pommel horse routine, miraculously scoring a 9.5 out of 10. He then faced the rings, which would be his final event of the day. Shun performed extraordinarily, ignoring the inevitable consequences of dismounting from eight feet off the ground. Upon completion of his routine, he hurled himself into a beautifully executed triple-somersault dismount.
When his feet hit the floor, the pain sliced through him like a knife, but he kept his balance. Gritting his teeth, he raised his arms in a perfect finish before collapsing in agony. He was awarded a 9.7, the highest score he had ever recorded on the rings. After winning the closest gymnastics team competition in Olympic history, Shun joined his team at the podium to receive his gold medal, and he did it without assistance.
The apostle Paul was probably referring to the ancient Olympic Games in 1 Cor. 9:24-27
Isn’t it interesting that today at RRAG we are learning truth from a current event that was also a current event in Biblical times??
In Paul’s day the Olympic victor received his first awards immediately after the competition. Following the announcement of the winner’s name by the herald, a greek judge would place a palm branch in his hands, while the spectators cheered and threw flowers to him. Red ribbons were tied on his head and hands as a mark of victory.
The official award ceremony would take place on the last day of the Games. In a loud voice, the herald would announce the name of the Olympic winner, his father’s name and his homeland. Then the greek judge placed the sacred olive tree wreath on the winner’s head…
Paul says, we run this Christian race in need of much discipline, trying to obtain a crown that isn’t simply made of a perishable tree branch but a crown that will last forever in heaven!
Yes, the Christian must practice discipline, but I have found out that if I am truly in a love relationship with Jesus it doesn’t always feel like discipline…it’s loads of fun too…
Harry Park said that as a coach, you don’t really need to do anything to push the athletes to compete. By and large, they love their sports and with a little positive reinforcement they keep doing it. In the scheme of things, he doesn’t really see the Olympic as a huge sacrifice and believes that players are often motivated in part because they indulge in it – whether their support comes from their families or the military as in his case. In the end, they compete at the highest level they can and the ones who really enjoy it get the best reinforcement…
I read this coaches words and suddenly it dawned on me…Why is it that the American church is shrinking and fragmented? Why is it that pastors all feel like they just keep hitting a brick wall and struggle with their own attitudes? HELLO…we need to fall in love with Jesus and his Church again! The American church needs to hear again from Revelations 2…the same warning for the church in Ephesus…YOU HAVE LEFT YOUR FIRST LOVE…We always come back to it don’t we…It’s all about LOVE!
Does your life reflect Christ as your FIRST LOVE?
Americans are committed to so many things, BUT are we committed to Christ and His church?
During the almost 5 years of being your pastor I have been amazed at the uncommitted behavior of Christians…
But, I don’t want to start lecturing so I will move on…
I can’t fix it that way…He’s gotta fix it…so I’ll get on my knees…
We are all athletes in God’s Olympics…If we are Running the race of the Christian life, COMMITMENT is an important ingredient to success…
Most speed-skating victories come down to 1/100th of a second. This one took over a decade. Of all the Olympic stories that teach us about perseverance and commitment, very few are as memorable as that of Dan Jansen. The world first met Jansen at the '84 Games in Sarajevo, when the relatively unknown American placed an impressive 4th in the 500-metre race. By Calgary in '88, he was favored to win the 500- and 1,000-metre races. But life had other plans.
Jansen's sister had been suffering from leukæmia and died just minutes before race time. In his final conversation with her, he promised to win in her honour. But instead Jansen fell. Not just once, but in both races. He left Calgary empty-handed. Four years later Jansen was again favoured to win, this time in Albertville. But after a disappointing performance, he again left without a medal.
In 1994, Jansen prepared for his fourth Olympic Games, in Lillehammer. He knew it would be his last chance and hoped he could put his past behind him once and for all. But on his first race, to the horror of everyone watching, Jansen slipped yet again during the 500 and finished 8th. Only one race remained. The last of his career.
Four days after that unfortunate fall, the starting gun sounded for the start of the 1,000. And everything magically fell into place. A decade of disappointment suddenly was erased as Jansen took first place and set a new world record. During the victory lap, he picked up his daughter and carried her around the ice. They had named her Jane, in honour of his late sister. The perfect ending to a story that has become an inspiration to athletes around the world.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Rogue River Assembly Of God Heroes: Kathy Q.
The Bible says...HE INHABITS THE PRAISES OF HIS PEOPLE...
That's not just Praising the LORD...He is there when we praise one another...
So, I'm highlighting amazing people in our pews!
This time it's wonderful Kathy Q.
Hey, I rhymed!
This young lady has only been a part of our church for a few years, yet she has been a part of practically every ministry in our church!
She has even begun several ministries...she helped birth the Hospitality Team...she recently began a mentoring ministry!
At the same time She is volunteering for Youth For Christ and the Pregnency Care Center!
I DON'T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT ALL!
I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of all the LORD uses her to do...She helps us in the church office...She helps Pastor Short with the Young at Heart...She sings on the worship team and does special music!!!
WHAT AN AMAZING BLESSING KQ IS TO OUR CHURCH!
I think if she ever had to move away our church would have to shut down...justkiddin...
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Mailer & Car Stickers
I hope you received my silly little postcard...
If you didn't that means you need your address added to our church master list, PLEASE FILL OUT THE TEAR-OFF...IT'S ALL ABOUT THE TEAR-OFF!!
(the tear-off is on the Sunday bulletin, for those of you who think I just lost my mind)
Also, I ordered these car stickers awhile ago and they haven't been embraced very well. I guess there are some of you who are afraid they will damage your vehicle. I assure you they were specially made for use on vehicles...I put mine on my back window...
I think they are a wonderful way to promote our church...mabye a simple sticker on your car could even create a God-moment to show the gospel!!
Monday, July 28, 2008
The Shack
I just finished reading this book! I have never read anything like it before. I'm going to read it AGAIN AND AGAIN...truly life changing! I thought I would copy and paste all the accolades from http://www.theshackbook.com/ in hopes that you would be convinced to read the book yourself!
When the imagination of a writer and the passion of a theologian cross-fertilize the result is a novel on the order of The Shack. This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress did for his. It’s that good!
Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus Of Spiritual Theology,Regent College, Vancouver, B.C.
If God is all powerful and full of love, why doesn’t He do something about the pain and evil in our world? This book answers that age old question with startling creativity and staggering clarity. By far one of the best books I have ever read.
James Ryle, Author Hippo in the Garden
Wrapped in creative brilliance, The Shack is spiritually profound, theologically enlightening and life impacting. It has my highest recommendation. We are joyfully giving copies away by the case.
Steve Berger, Pastor , Grace Chapel
Riveting, with twists that defy your expectations while teaching powerful theological lessons without patronizing. I was crying by page 100. You cannot read it without your heart becoming involved.
Gayle E. Erwin, Author The Jesus Style
The Shack is a one of a kind invitation to journey to the very heart of God. Through my tears and cheers, I have been indeed transformed by the tender mercy with which William Paul Young opened the veil that too often separated me from God and from myself. With every page, the complicated do’s and don’t that distort a relationship into a religion were washed away as I understood Father, Son, and Holy Ghost for the first time in my life.
Patrick M. Roddy, Emmy Award Winning Producer of ABC News
This book eloquently captures the shift from being highly responsible people in a religious system, to walking in intimacy as we respond to the fragrance of Christ in daily life.
Arthur Burk, Sapphire Leadership Group, Inc.
Finally! A guy-meets-god novel that has literary integrity and spiritual daring. The Shack cuts through the clichés of both religion and bad writing to reveal something compelling and beautiful about life’s integral dance with the divine. This story reads like a prayer—like the best kinds of prayer, filled with sweat and wonder and transparency and surprise. When I read it, I felt like I was fellowshipping with God. If you read one work of fiction this year, let this be it.
Mike Morrell, Zoecarnate.com
Don’t miss this! If there’s a better book out there capturing god’s engaging nature and his ability to crawl into our darkest nightmare with his love, light and healing, I’ve not seen it. For the most ardent believer or newest spiritual seeker, the shack is a must-read.
Wayne Jacobsen, author of So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore
My biggest disappointment with Christian books is that almost all of them seem to say the same things in the same way. Not so with The Shack! It reads like no other book, and tells a story I guarantee you have not heard before. Enjoy the adventure!
Bart Campolo, Founder of Mission Year
An exceptional piece of writing that ushers you directly into the heart and nature of god in the midst of agonizing human suffering. This amazing story will challenge you to consider the person and the plan of god in more expansive terms than you may have ever dreamed.
David Gregory, author of Dinner with a Perfect Stranger
The path to God is paved with questions—sometimes frightening and deeply painful ones. While reading The Shack I realized the questions unfolding in this captivating novel were questions I was carrying deep within me. True freedom is born from facing those things we feel we don’t have the courage or strength to face. The beauty of this book is not that it supplies the reader with easy answers to grueling questions, but that it invites you to come in close to a God of mercy and love, in whom we find hope and healing.
Jim Palmer, author of Divine Nobodies
This book goes beyond being the well written suspenseful page-turner that it is. Since the death of our son Jason the lord has led us to a small number of life-changing books and this one heads the list. When you close the back cover you will be changed.
Dale Lang, (rockcanada.org), father of student killed in Columbine copycat shooting
This is my most favorite book that I have ever read.
Jordyn Foster, 12 years old (Estacada, OR)
You will be captivated by the creativity and imagination of the shack, and before you know it you’ll be experiencing god as never before. William young’s insights are not just captivating, they are biblically faithful and true. Don’t miss this transforming story of grace.
Greg Albrecht, Editor, Plain Truth Magazine
The main story was so complelling the first time through I just couldn’t put it down. The second time through, what I would call the hiddeness of the book just grabbed me. The third time something new and different. When you get it into your hands, I encourage you to read it many times. This is not a one-time read and it will be forever a part of who I am.
Kent Burgess
Your work is a masterpiece! There are tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. All I can think of is the others that need to read your words and I’m just as convinced that each one that reads it has those who also need your words.
Chyril Walker, Ph.D.
Great book! I totally enjoyed it and found some parts of it needed to be read more than once because the words were so “right on”.
Margie Ulsh, Editor Among Worlds
I can’t begin to tell you how much I appreciated reading The Shack and how much it has meant to my wife and me. We lost a son in an accident years ago and this story brought comfort and healing. I dealt with the questions this book addresses every day and know you could not have written it without dealing with the reality of loss in your own life.
Dave Coleman, retired Hospice Chaplain
I read and wept and slept and read again. I am full of words, inexpressible thoughts, shades and hues of hope and light and joy.
Larry Gillis, pastor/counselor
Do you ever stand by the ocean, just close your eyes and breath deeply, filling your lungs with purity? That’s what The Shack is like. I’ve filled my lungs with clean, fresh air, after choking on the stifling smog of religiosity. At times I had tears in my eyes, and others I was laughing out loud.
Dale Bruneski, corrections counselor (Canada)
To sum up these experiences will take some time, but the gist can be easily described in my thoughts which often repeat its theme while reading The Shack... Feedback overload! System shutdown imminent! Warning! Warning! Reboot!
Jim Hawley, teacher (Taiwan)
Worshipping with MercyMe and CastingCrowns
Last night's concert was trully a night of Worship!
I secretly snapped some pictures of our church (Trudi, Zach, ect.) expressing their hearts of worship...
And my son was sticking out his tongue at the bands...he's already starting to act like me...hee hee
The moment that has stuck in my head was when the Leader of Casting Crowns was sharing his heart and said...We are to be the BODY of Christ NOT the AUDIENCE of Christ!
This is what the LORD has been birthing in our church...America's church acts like an audience: watching the ministry instead of doing the ministry...We are ALL ministers...What's your ministry?
Live Simply Love Generously Care Deeply Speak Kindly and Leave the Rest to GOD
Yesterday I concluded this sermon series...
I don't have my sermon notes with me right now and I have some time for blogging...so, here's some words from memory...
The LORD keeps bringing us back to the subject of SPEAKING KINDLY...
As a matter of fact my very first sermon as pastor of RRAG was entitled...BE AN EXAMPLE FOR THE BELIEVERS IN SPEECH...based on 1 Tim 4:12...I was doing a sermon series entitled OUR MISSION...
I talked about the incredible importance of the greek word for speech: LOGOS...this is the very origin of all creation...IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD...
Do our kind words carry JESUS to the world?
PROVERBS 18: 20&21...A man's moral self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied (whether good or evil). Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it (for death or life)...
I used two illustrations for the power of the tongue...
One...Aesop's fable of the four bulls: because they listened to the lies of the lion they didn't stick TOGETHER and became dinner...
Two...The Snail: a scientist looked at a snails tongue under a miscroscope and found thousands of teeth, this little creature can saw through leaves ect. with comparative ease...
I pray the Holy Spirit open our spiritual eyes to the snail-like toothy tool (the human tongue) sawing through hearts with comparative ease...
It takes children 2 years to learn to speak and adults 50 years to learn to shut up...
Some of us haven't learned after 50 years...
Ask Holly, I haven't learned after 30 years...I hate it when I preach at myself!
Before we speak we should stop & T.H.I.N.K.
T: is what I'm about to say TRUE
H: is it HELPFUL
I: is what is protruding from my face INCONSISTENT with the life of Christ
N: is it even NECESSARY
K: and most importantly...is it KIND
Because the very origin of the spoken word is CHRIST...I shared a few thoughts that EMPOWER us to bring Christ to others...this is the MAIN THING:
1. People LISTEN to those who treat them as FRIENDS
2. Serving gets people's attention, simple acts of kindness
You may want to read Steve Sjogren's book: Conspiracy of Kindness.
3. As we serve, we change the world's perception of Christianity
The Christian has the reputation of being judgmental, uptight...we must change this for that is the Pharisee, not JESUS
4. Doing precedes telling!
5. Focus on planting, not harvesting
God is the only true evangelist! We are not gathering scalps...look for God moments to show Love so the heart may be open to the sharing of the gospel...America has become a hostile environment to the faith so it takes TIME (showing before telling)...
I don't have my sermon notes with me right now and I have some time for blogging...so, here's some words from memory...
The LORD keeps bringing us back to the subject of SPEAKING KINDLY...
As a matter of fact my very first sermon as pastor of RRAG was entitled...BE AN EXAMPLE FOR THE BELIEVERS IN SPEECH...based on 1 Tim 4:12...I was doing a sermon series entitled OUR MISSION...
I talked about the incredible importance of the greek word for speech: LOGOS...this is the very origin of all creation...IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD...
Do our kind words carry JESUS to the world?
PROVERBS 18: 20&21...A man's moral self shall be filled with the fruit of his mouth; and with the consequence of his words he must be satisfied (whether good or evil). Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it (for death or life)...
I used two illustrations for the power of the tongue...
One...Aesop's fable of the four bulls: because they listened to the lies of the lion they didn't stick TOGETHER and became dinner...
Two...The Snail: a scientist looked at a snails tongue under a miscroscope and found thousands of teeth, this little creature can saw through leaves ect. with comparative ease...
I pray the Holy Spirit open our spiritual eyes to the snail-like toothy tool (the human tongue) sawing through hearts with comparative ease...
It takes children 2 years to learn to speak and adults 50 years to learn to shut up...
Some of us haven't learned after 50 years...
Ask Holly, I haven't learned after 30 years...I hate it when I preach at myself!
Before we speak we should stop & T.H.I.N.K.
T: is what I'm about to say TRUE
H: is it HELPFUL
I: is what is protruding from my face INCONSISTENT with the life of Christ
N: is it even NECESSARY
K: and most importantly...is it KIND
Because the very origin of the spoken word is CHRIST...I shared a few thoughts that EMPOWER us to bring Christ to others...this is the MAIN THING:
1. People LISTEN to those who treat them as FRIENDS
2. Serving gets people's attention, simple acts of kindness
You may want to read Steve Sjogren's book: Conspiracy of Kindness.
3. As we serve, we change the world's perception of Christianity
The Christian has the reputation of being judgmental, uptight...we must change this for that is the Pharisee, not JESUS
4. Doing precedes telling!
5. Focus on planting, not harvesting
God is the only true evangelist! We are not gathering scalps...look for God moments to show Love so the heart may be open to the sharing of the gospel...America has become a hostile environment to the faith so it takes TIME (showing before telling)...
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
I actually did one of those crazy email surveys...
1. What time did you get up this morning? Baby started screaming around 6am
2. Are you happy or grumpy in the morning? Grumpy
3. Last movie you saw? Bella (has a good message but jumps around so much it's hard to watch)
4. What is your favorite TV Show? Gilmore Girls (stop mocking me, the characters are hilarious)
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? String cheese, banana and COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE
6. What is your middle name? Brian
7. What food do you dislike? carrots are gross, I know they help you see good, bla bla bla
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? Freedom, New Breed
9. What kind of car do you drive? Dodge Caravan, what can I say I'm old now with my minivan
10. Favorite sandwich? tomato, have you ever had tomatoes from the garden with white bread and mayo YUM
11. What characteristic do you despise? I can handle most anything except for LIES...I've been praying that the LORD would take away any reactive buttons in me and give me strength for patience...I don't pray for patience cause then God allows lots of circumstances to practice such patience...I pray for strength...1 Peter 5:10
12. Favorite item of clothing? I like my new hawaiin shirt Holly just bought for me out of the blue for no particular reason...she blessed me with that simple act of random kindness
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Hmmm probably Hawaii cause Holly really wants to go there...me, I'm fine with the Oregon Coast
14. Favorite brand of clothing? MMMM don't care
15. Where would you retire to? the Oregon Coast or Oak Harbor is pretty BUT who am I kidding I will never retire...I'll be preachin till the day I die
16. Favorite birthday? Holly just threw me a fabulous 30th Bday Party...she even made it a Christmas theme cause she know how nuts I am about Christmas...she even set up Christmas trees and nativity scenes
17. Favorite sport to watch? MMMM...I'd rather not...although I've been playing softball, volleyball and tennis lately
18. Furthest place you are sending this? Australia...I have a college friend and navy friend living there
19. What would you like to do if you didn't need to work? BUY A BIG HOUSE AND FILL IT WITH ORPHANS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD...but probably still have to preach it's not my work it's my calling
20. What was your last dream? OH MY I had this horrible dream about the end times the other night...
21. Favorite pastime? reading...I haven't been doing as much of that since NATHANIEL MESFIN came into my life...
22. Are you a morning person or a night person? I used to be a night person NOW I'm NEITHER
23. What is your shoe size? It used to be 13 until I broke my foot...the last few pair of shoes I bought were 14...but I just bought a size 16 NIKE but they run small...
24. Pets? CHEWY my crazy jack russel...Holly and I were so afraid that he would be bad about the new baby BUT he's being AMAZING...He's a whole new dog, it's like getting Mesfin made him grow up...
25. Favorite memory? My Wedding Day was a pretty big moment...Oh and graduating College...Oh and my ordination...OH and TRAVELLING TO ETHIOPIA TO GET MY SON
26. What did you want to be when you were little? BIG SURPRISE...a preacher
27. How old are you today? 30
28. What is your favorite candy? I've been on a STARBURST kick...but I need to stop it cause my belly is big
29. What is your favorite flower? HMMM...I like the color RED so mabye red roses???
30. What day are you looking forward to? Sunday we're going to a Mercy Me and Casting Crowns concert that will be lots of fun OH and my friend Lance is visiting this weekend
31. Eye color? Blue/grey
32. Favorite amusement park ride? the GOLIATH at Magic Mountain
33. What are you listening to right now? nothing, sometimes I rather enjoy the quiet
34. What was the last thing you ate? Rusty just took me to lunch at Tarascos where I had my usual...cheese and onion enchilada and a bean tostada with rice and beans
35. Do you wish on stars? Jaye Rinehart send me this crazy thing, she said: No but I pray a lot...I'm with her
36. If you were a crayon, But I'm not a crayon and I think there's supposed to be more to this question...
37. How is the weather right now? yucky hot...although the last few days haven't been in the hundreds...that's nice
38. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Probably Holly...I don't remember...OH WAIT the Continentals called the church office while Kathy Q. was at the post office...
39. Favorite soft drink? PEPSI, but I've been cutting back on how often and how much
40. Favorite restaurant - RED LOBSTER, but their too expensive and I don't ge to go very often
41. Hair color? brown...But I've noticed the hot sun gives me blondish highlights...who needs a hair dresser
42. What was your favorite toy as a child? I remember climbing trees and playing mario brothers
43. Summer or winter? FALL...what can I say I'm a rebel
44. Hugs or kisses? Hmmm depends on who it's from...If it's Holly or Mesfin KEEP IT COMIN
45. Chocolate or Vanilla? CHOCOLATE...actually vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup is heavenly
46. Coffee or tea? COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE...
47.Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes
48. What is under your bed? my shoes
49. What did you do last night? play with Nathaniel Mesfin Paul West
51. What are you afraid of? God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind...AND JAYE YOU NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT GROWING OLD ALONE AS LONG AS HOLLY AND I ARE AROUND...IF YOU GET LONELY JUST CALL
52. Salty or sweet? BOTH
53. How many keys on your key ring? 10...I can't believe I just counted for this silly thing...It's getting a little long...I'm amazed if you've read this far...
54. How many years at your current job? 4...will be 5 in Feb. I can't believe it's almost 5 years!
55. Favorite day of the week? Sunday
56. How many towns have you lived in? Rogue River, Kirkland, Oak Harbor, Rogue River
57. Do you make friends easily? Hmmm I try
58. Who named you? My parents SILLY
59. How was your name chosen? I think from the Bible
60. Your favorite quote? Wherever you go Preach the gospel and if necessary use words
2. Are you happy or grumpy in the morning? Grumpy
3. Last movie you saw? Bella (has a good message but jumps around so much it's hard to watch)
4. What is your favorite TV Show? Gilmore Girls (stop mocking me, the characters are hilarious)
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? String cheese, banana and COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE
6. What is your middle name? Brian
7. What food do you dislike? carrots are gross, I know they help you see good, bla bla bla
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? Freedom, New Breed
9. What kind of car do you drive? Dodge Caravan, what can I say I'm old now with my minivan
10. Favorite sandwich? tomato, have you ever had tomatoes from the garden with white bread and mayo YUM
11. What characteristic do you despise? I can handle most anything except for LIES...I've been praying that the LORD would take away any reactive buttons in me and give me strength for patience...I don't pray for patience cause then God allows lots of circumstances to practice such patience...I pray for strength...1 Peter 5:10
12. Favorite item of clothing? I like my new hawaiin shirt Holly just bought for me out of the blue for no particular reason...she blessed me with that simple act of random kindness
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Hmmm probably Hawaii cause Holly really wants to go there...me, I'm fine with the Oregon Coast
14. Favorite brand of clothing? MMMM don't care
15. Where would you retire to? the Oregon Coast or Oak Harbor is pretty BUT who am I kidding I will never retire...I'll be preachin till the day I die
16. Favorite birthday? Holly just threw me a fabulous 30th Bday Party...she even made it a Christmas theme cause she know how nuts I am about Christmas...she even set up Christmas trees and nativity scenes
17. Favorite sport to watch? MMMM...I'd rather not...although I've been playing softball, volleyball and tennis lately
18. Furthest place you are sending this? Australia...I have a college friend and navy friend living there
19. What would you like to do if you didn't need to work? BUY A BIG HOUSE AND FILL IT WITH ORPHANS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD...but probably still have to preach it's not my work it's my calling
20. What was your last dream? OH MY I had this horrible dream about the end times the other night...
21. Favorite pastime? reading...I haven't been doing as much of that since NATHANIEL MESFIN came into my life...
22. Are you a morning person or a night person? I used to be a night person NOW I'm NEITHER
23. What is your shoe size? It used to be 13 until I broke my foot...the last few pair of shoes I bought were 14...but I just bought a size 16 NIKE but they run small...
24. Pets? CHEWY my crazy jack russel...Holly and I were so afraid that he would be bad about the new baby BUT he's being AMAZING...He's a whole new dog, it's like getting Mesfin made him grow up...
25. Favorite memory? My Wedding Day was a pretty big moment...Oh and graduating College...Oh and my ordination...OH and TRAVELLING TO ETHIOPIA TO GET MY SON
26. What did you want to be when you were little? BIG SURPRISE...a preacher
27. How old are you today? 30
28. What is your favorite candy? I've been on a STARBURST kick...but I need to stop it cause my belly is big
29. What is your favorite flower? HMMM...I like the color RED so mabye red roses???
30. What day are you looking forward to? Sunday we're going to a Mercy Me and Casting Crowns concert that will be lots of fun OH and my friend Lance is visiting this weekend
31. Eye color? Blue/grey
32. Favorite amusement park ride? the GOLIATH at Magic Mountain
33. What are you listening to right now? nothing, sometimes I rather enjoy the quiet
34. What was the last thing you ate? Rusty just took me to lunch at Tarascos where I had my usual...cheese and onion enchilada and a bean tostada with rice and beans
35. Do you wish on stars? Jaye Rinehart send me this crazy thing, she said: No but I pray a lot...I'm with her
36. If you were a crayon, But I'm not a crayon and I think there's supposed to be more to this question...
37. How is the weather right now? yucky hot...although the last few days haven't been in the hundreds...that's nice
38. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Probably Holly...I don't remember...OH WAIT the Continentals called the church office while Kathy Q. was at the post office...
39. Favorite soft drink? PEPSI, but I've been cutting back on how often and how much
40. Favorite restaurant - RED LOBSTER, but their too expensive and I don't ge to go very often
41. Hair color? brown...But I've noticed the hot sun gives me blondish highlights...who needs a hair dresser
42. What was your favorite toy as a child? I remember climbing trees and playing mario brothers
43. Summer or winter? FALL...what can I say I'm a rebel
44. Hugs or kisses? Hmmm depends on who it's from...If it's Holly or Mesfin KEEP IT COMIN
45. Chocolate or Vanilla? CHOCOLATE...actually vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup is heavenly
46. Coffee or tea? COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEECOFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE...
47.Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes
48. What is under your bed? my shoes
49. What did you do last night? play with Nathaniel Mesfin Paul West
51. What are you afraid of? God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind...AND JAYE YOU NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT GROWING OLD ALONE AS LONG AS HOLLY AND I ARE AROUND...IF YOU GET LONELY JUST CALL
52. Salty or sweet? BOTH
53. How many keys on your key ring? 10...I can't believe I just counted for this silly thing...It's getting a little long...I'm amazed if you've read this far...
54. How many years at your current job? 4...will be 5 in Feb. I can't believe it's almost 5 years!
55. Favorite day of the week? Sunday
56. How many towns have you lived in? Rogue River, Kirkland, Oak Harbor, Rogue River
57. Do you make friends easily? Hmmm I try
58. Who named you? My parents SILLY
59. How was your name chosen? I think from the Bible
60. Your favorite quote? Wherever you go Preach the gospel and if necessary use words
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Rogue River Assembly Of God Heroes: Grandma Max
So I've been thinking about ways to blog about our church...ways to help those who visit my blog trying to find out what our church is all about (mabye even perspective members)...
who knows mabye placing stuff out in the blogosphere makes a difference for the kingdom of GOD...
ANYWAY...I was thinking there is no better way to convey what our church is all about (LOVE) then talking about the people of our church...
THE CHURCH is the people not the building...
SO, I'm going to blog once in awhile about some of ROGUE RIVER ASSEMBLY OF GOD's HEROES...
Beginning with: Maxine Peters
(I call her Grandma Max)
This special lady has been a part of our church as long as I can remember...She may be one of those who can say "I changed my pastor's diapers when he was a baby."
She has led our PRAYER CHAIN for so long I wonder if she knows how many years?
FAITHFUL, LOVING, SWEET, KIND, AVAILABLE, ANOINTED PRAYER WARRIOR!!!
I could go on forever about this precious soul!
If you ever get the chance to sit down and talk with this lady, I hope you will ask her to share just some of the MIRACLES that have been reported from our church's PRAYER CHAIN...
Better yet, seek her out and join this vital ministry!
Food Bank
Our food bank hero, George Hunt, told me last week that the cupboards were getting terribly bare... Mabye the LORD is speaking to your heart about helping this vital ministry of our church...
Soak em or not Soak em
Our Children's Director is always tring to find fun ways to reach the kids!
I apprieciate Mrs. Shelli's hard work for our church!
Is the LORD putting it on your heart to help Mrs. Shelli in some way?
Celebration Service 7/20/08
AND WHAT A CELEBRATION IT WAS!
This week was the trial run for the big schedule change...
Sometimes change is hard to embrace BUT this time it was celebrated!!!
We moved our Sunday Evening Prayer and Communion to Sunday Morning 9AM...
It was very well attended and our corporate prayer was very MOVING!!!
That time of prayer seemed to energize our 10am service...and having a baptism in the middle of service definately helped the celebration...EVEN taking a second offering for our sad parking lot didn't slow things down...
Here's my sermon notes:
Mildred, the church gossip, and self-appointed monitor of the church's morals, kept sticking her nose in other people's business. Several members did not approve of her extra curricular activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence.
She made a mistake however, when she accused Frank, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon. She emphatically told Frank (and several others) that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing.
Frank, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned andwalked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny... He said nothing.
Later that evening, Frank quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's
house... Walked home... And left it there all night.
Boy, is there a msg in that one or what?!
Today we continue a sermon series entitled:Live Simply Love Generously Care Deeply Speak Kindly Leave the rest to God…Let’s AGAIN dig into CARING DEEPLY
Remember you can visit my blog for review or sign up for a CD in the foyer…
1Peter 5
I believe the LORD lead us to 1 Peter 5 for many reasons…Obviously it contains that well known verse 7…Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you…
If your taking notes…Today we’re going to take some advice from Peter for Caring Wisely…We can care so deeply that all we ever do is drive everybody around us crazy…I think this 5th chapter in the 1st book of Peter has some great wisdom for developing healthy relationships in the church…
1. Care by example
Peter admonishes the shepherds of the flock, the elders, the leadership, and I dare say it applies to all Christians…to lead by example, not by compulsion, guilt-trips, manipulation…lording over people…pushy!!!
Have you noticed how pushy us Southern Oregonians are!?
My pastor once told me his secret to peace…Don’t give your opinion unless it’s asked…
Some of us don’t know how to have a conversation without expressing every little opinion we have... Some of us don’t even realize that everything out of our mouth is SCOLDING…Is that really our job as Christians?
When you have my sickness…foot in mouth disease…When you don’t think before you speak…you could be unwittingly manipulating, guilt-tripping, scolding, yuck…
It is our job to PRAISE, to ENCOURAGE…HE inhabits the praises of His people…Look for ways to Praise Him and those around you…put away your critical eye and see how fun life can be!
If you see something that needs to change…before you bang someone in the head with the log that’s in your eye…pray about it and live it out yourself…
In case you didn’t get the whole log thing check out Jesus teaching in Matthew 7…
Better yet, let’s all go there…
Care by example and suddenly you discover how abundant life can be without the scolding without the criticalness without the judging…remember that’s not your job…that’s God’s job…
2. Care by going to God first
Please don’t misunderstand me…I don’t want to be guilty of preaching a sermon on caring deeply and act very uncaring…BUT, sometimes we cast our cares all over our friends and family while God is waiting to care for us in prayer…Meanwhile our friends, family, church, pastor is gooified by all our casting…
Did that make sense to you?
God has big shoulders…Go to Him first…then your casting of cares on others is not so gooey cause He’s taken most of the burden first…
By the way gooey is a very mature, theological word!
I want to challenge you this morning…How many times have you gone to a friend, family member, church member, pastor before you went to the LORD in prayer?
How can you care for anyone other than yourself if you do not know how to cast your cares upon the LORD?
I’ve found myself in this predicament…selfish and uncaring, consumed with my own stuff…while the world around me is crying out for love!
This is why I think Peter challenges his readers to humble themselves just before he says to cast cares upon the LORD! It’s amazing how your own problems get worked out while you’re caring deeply for others…
A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of Root beer and he started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie. He gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer. Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word. As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug. He gave him his biggest smile ever. When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?"He replied, "I had lunch with God." And before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? He's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked, "Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." And, before his son responded, he added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected." Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
3. Care by His Strength
Have you ever felt burned out, nothing left to give, used, abused…welcome to the ministry
OR wait is that what it’s supposed to be like?
Look at verse 10 of 1 Peter 5 again…But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you…
Stop being surprised by the suffering…Let Jesus perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you
THOSE WORDS BREATHE LIFE TO MY BONES
JESUS PERFECT ESTABLISH STRENGTHEN AND SETTLE YOUR CHURCH
Despite all the suffering in the world, sometimes even because of all the suffering, we are being perfected…Can’t you feel that way down deep?...He’s establishing His Throne…He’s giving the strength it takes to survive it all…and He even promises to settle it all…that great settling day isn’t far away…
I found this great little letter from God on the net at Godswork.org… This is God. Today, as with every day, I will be handling all your problems.Please remember that I do not need your help. If the Devil happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it.
Kindly put it all in the SFJTD box (Something for Jesus to do). It will be addressed in MY time. . .not yours. . .please be patient. Once the matter is placed in the box, do not hold onto it. Do not become impatient and take it back out to see if you can find a solution.
Holding on or removal will delay the resolution of your problem. You must surrender the problem to me for proper resolution. If a situation that you think you can handle arises, please consult me in prayer.Together we will come up with the proper resolution. If you do not receive what you anticipate as proper response from Me.
Remember. . .some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. Because I do not sleep, there is no need for you to lose any sleep. Rest My Child. . .if you need me, I am but a prayer away.
This week was the trial run for the big schedule change...
Sometimes change is hard to embrace BUT this time it was celebrated!!!
We moved our Sunday Evening Prayer and Communion to Sunday Morning 9AM...
It was very well attended and our corporate prayer was very MOVING!!!
That time of prayer seemed to energize our 10am service...and having a baptism in the middle of service definately helped the celebration...EVEN taking a second offering for our sad parking lot didn't slow things down...
Here's my sermon notes:
Mildred, the church gossip, and self-appointed monitor of the church's morals, kept sticking her nose in other people's business. Several members did not approve of her extra curricular activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence.
She made a mistake however, when she accused Frank, a new member, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old pickup parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon. She emphatically told Frank (and several others) that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing.
Frank, a man of few words, stared at her for a moment and just turned andwalked away. He didn't explain, defend, or deny... He said nothing.
Later that evening, Frank quietly parked his pickup in front of Mildred's
house... Walked home... And left it there all night.
Boy, is there a msg in that one or what?!
Today we continue a sermon series entitled:Live Simply Love Generously Care Deeply Speak Kindly Leave the rest to God…Let’s AGAIN dig into CARING DEEPLY
Remember you can visit my blog for review or sign up for a CD in the foyer…
1Peter 5
I believe the LORD lead us to 1 Peter 5 for many reasons…Obviously it contains that well known verse 7…Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you…
If your taking notes…Today we’re going to take some advice from Peter for Caring Wisely…We can care so deeply that all we ever do is drive everybody around us crazy…I think this 5th chapter in the 1st book of Peter has some great wisdom for developing healthy relationships in the church…
1. Care by example
Peter admonishes the shepherds of the flock, the elders, the leadership, and I dare say it applies to all Christians…to lead by example, not by compulsion, guilt-trips, manipulation…lording over people…pushy!!!
Have you noticed how pushy us Southern Oregonians are!?
My pastor once told me his secret to peace…Don’t give your opinion unless it’s asked…
Some of us don’t know how to have a conversation without expressing every little opinion we have... Some of us don’t even realize that everything out of our mouth is SCOLDING…Is that really our job as Christians?
When you have my sickness…foot in mouth disease…When you don’t think before you speak…you could be unwittingly manipulating, guilt-tripping, scolding, yuck…
It is our job to PRAISE, to ENCOURAGE…HE inhabits the praises of His people…Look for ways to Praise Him and those around you…put away your critical eye and see how fun life can be!
If you see something that needs to change…before you bang someone in the head with the log that’s in your eye…pray about it and live it out yourself…
In case you didn’t get the whole log thing check out Jesus teaching in Matthew 7…
Better yet, let’s all go there…
Care by example and suddenly you discover how abundant life can be without the scolding without the criticalness without the judging…remember that’s not your job…that’s God’s job…
2. Care by going to God first
Please don’t misunderstand me…I don’t want to be guilty of preaching a sermon on caring deeply and act very uncaring…BUT, sometimes we cast our cares all over our friends and family while God is waiting to care for us in prayer…Meanwhile our friends, family, church, pastor is gooified by all our casting…
Did that make sense to you?
God has big shoulders…Go to Him first…then your casting of cares on others is not so gooey cause He’s taken most of the burden first…
By the way gooey is a very mature, theological word!
I want to challenge you this morning…How many times have you gone to a friend, family member, church member, pastor before you went to the LORD in prayer?
How can you care for anyone other than yourself if you do not know how to cast your cares upon the LORD?
I’ve found myself in this predicament…selfish and uncaring, consumed with my own stuff…while the world around me is crying out for love!
This is why I think Peter challenges his readers to humble themselves just before he says to cast cares upon the LORD! It’s amazing how your own problems get worked out while you’re caring deeply for others…
A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of Root beer and he started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old man. He was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie. He gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer. Again, he smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word. As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old man, and gave him a hug. He gave him his biggest smile ever. When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, "What did you do today that made you so happy?"He replied, "I had lunch with God." And before his mother could respond, he added, "You know what? He's got the most beautiful smile I've ever seen!"Meanwhile, the old man, also radiant with joy returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked, "Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?" He replied, "I ate Twinkies in the park with God." And, before his son responded, he added, "You know, he's much younger than I expected." Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
3. Care by His Strength
Have you ever felt burned out, nothing left to give, used, abused…welcome to the ministry
OR wait is that what it’s supposed to be like?
Look at verse 10 of 1 Peter 5 again…But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you…
Stop being surprised by the suffering…Let Jesus perfect, establish, strengthen and settle you
THOSE WORDS BREATHE LIFE TO MY BONES
JESUS PERFECT ESTABLISH STRENGTHEN AND SETTLE YOUR CHURCH
Despite all the suffering in the world, sometimes even because of all the suffering, we are being perfected…Can’t you feel that way down deep?...He’s establishing His Throne…He’s giving the strength it takes to survive it all…and He even promises to settle it all…that great settling day isn’t far away…
I found this great little letter from God on the net at Godswork.org… This is God. Today, as with every day, I will be handling all your problems.Please remember that I do not need your help. If the Devil happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it.
Kindly put it all in the SFJTD box (Something for Jesus to do). It will be addressed in MY time. . .not yours. . .please be patient. Once the matter is placed in the box, do not hold onto it. Do not become impatient and take it back out to see if you can find a solution.
Holding on or removal will delay the resolution of your problem. You must surrender the problem to me for proper resolution. If a situation that you think you can handle arises, please consult me in prayer.Together we will come up with the proper resolution. If you do not receive what you anticipate as proper response from Me.
Remember. . .some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. Because I do not sleep, there is no need for you to lose any sleep. Rest My Child. . .if you need me, I am but a prayer away.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
We mailed these Announcements today...
If you do not receive one...that means we need your address!!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Care Deeply
A cowboy named Bud was overseeing his herd in a remote mountainous pasture in California when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.
The driver, a man in a suit, dress shoes, sunglasses and tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, 'If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will you give me a calf?' Bud looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, 'Sure. Why not?' The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his Cingular cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo. The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a database through a connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response. Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-Tech Miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, 'You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves.' 'That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves,' says Bud.
He watches the man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the man stuffs it into the trunk of his car. Then Bud says to the man, 'Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?' The man thinks about it for a second and then says, 'Okay, why not?'
'You're a Televangelist,' says Bud.
'Wow! That's correct,' says the yuppie. 'But how did you guess that?' 'No guessing required,' answered the cowboy.
'You showed up here even though nobody called you.
You want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked.
You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are.
And you don't know a thing about cows.
'This is a herd of sheep --
now give me back my dog.'
Today we continue a sermon series entitled:Live Simply Love Generously Care Deeply Speak Kindly Leave the rest to God…Let’s dig into CARING DEEPLY
Remember you can visit my blog for review or sign up for a CD
You probably already know this about your pastor…But I’m a pretty EMOTIONAL person…It’s a strength and a weakness…The greatest struggle I’ve had as your pastor is People coming and going, actually I don’t mind the coming part it’s the going part…I was talking with some members of our church just this week who have decided to leave us…It always breaks my heart…Because I care deeply I try to talk them through it without manipulating AND ofcourse it doesn’t ever change their minds BUT it does let them know I love them and will miss them…I think RRAG is the greatest church in the world, I don’t ever want to give up on building a church that is truly all about loving God and loving people…
But I do not want to play the American Consumerism game…So many are going to church to see what they can get out of it…what ministries do you have to meet my needs…instead of going to give and to find ways to minister to…
One pastor said to me…you gotta get used to preaching to the parade…they come thru and sometimes they come around again but their always coming and going…I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to just get used to it because I really do CARE DEEPLY…I think I would rather feel my heart break than feel nothing at all…
Matthew 24:3-14
I know you have heard this time and time again…some of you all your lives growing up in the church…But I truly believe we are living in the last days
Or as verse 8 puts it…the beginning of sorrows
Today I think the Lord wants us to talk about some OBSTACLES TO CARING DEEPLY
Verse 10 of Matthew 24 says that many will be offended, betraying one another, hating one another…
I truly believe the greatest obstacle to the heart being able to CARE DEEPLY is being easily offended or being offended at all!
Once you choose to take up an offense you are only hurting yourself…the bitterness you live with does nothing to heal a relationship or if your feeling vindictive…hurt the other person your offended with…
Being quick to forgive and struggling hard to forget is the only way to live in freedom
Let this truth set you free today!
Verse 12 says because of lawlessness the love of many will grow cold…
Our society preaches unfaithfulness…our society knows nothing of commitment…
It’s like scotch tape
You stick it the first time it stays stuck pretty well…but then if you rip it off what it’s stuck to, some of the stickyness is lost and the more you stick it, the more it doesn’t stick…
Sounds like church hoppin…we’ve lost our stickyness…
My goodness you could use this analogy for every relational difficulty…families have lost their stickyness…marriage has lost it’s stickyness…friendship has lost it’s stickyness…the love of many has grown cold…
So, the obstacles to caring deeply
#1 taking offense
#2 loss of stickyness
Don’t roll your eyes at me…stickyness is a great theological word I just made up
Listen the only way to regain your stickyness, to become a new piece of scotch tape… is to practice commitment, faithfulness, Let the Spirit work his fruit in you…ask and you shall receive
Listen I’ve got the secret to CARING DEEPLY
You wanna hear it?
come back next week I’ll tell ya
Just kiddin
Verse 13…but he who endures to the end shall be saved
ENDURANCE…it’s the only path to real life, a life of abundant love and according to this verse eternal life in heaven…
Again the obstacles to caring deeply
1…taking offense
2…loss of stickyness
3…lack of endurance
This seems like the place most preachers add a good story…
He arrived late one night, on a business trip, so he decided to have dinner in the hotel. As he was finishing his meal, an older couple came in to dine. They were holding hands and had lovely smiles on their faces. They sat three tables from him. He was amazed at the love they showed for one another. It seemed to strike home, all the more, because this was shortly after ending a 20-year marriage and he still had such pain in his heart.
His waiter was also their waiter. As he paid his bill, he inquired as to what their bill was, the waiter informed him, and he gave him the $40 to pay their tab. The waiter asked if he knew them and he told him "No, I just wanted to repay them for the love that they were showing to each other," and then he departed. The next day his business meeting ended two hours before the flight back to Houston. He entered the restaurant to dine prior to his departure. After he had been seated the waiter, from the night before, came up to his table. The waiter said the strangest thing happened after you left the restaurant…When the older couple went to pay for their meal, they were informed that another guest had paid for it. When they inquired as to whom it was, the hostess told them they had never seen the man before, and that he said, "I just wanted to pay them back for the love that they were showing towards each other" and that he already had left the restaurant. The couple were amazed, they looked around, and asked for the bill of two young couples, who were seated together (in their 20's or 30's), paid their bill and departed saying "Love begets Love" to the amazement of the hostess and waiter.
The man smiled and said "That's nice," and ordered his meal. About 45 minutes later, he had finished his meal and was getting ready to head out, his waiter was no where to be found. He waited and waited and finally walked over to the Hostess stand and explained that he needed to pay for his meal and hurry and get to the airport. She smiled and explained that he would not have to pay for his meal. The waiter and hostess felt compelled to pay his bill, she said, due to the joy that was brought to the faces of the elderly couple and the amazement of the young couples from the night before. When he told her that they didn't have to do that, she said with a smile "Love begets Love."
I understand that that’s a sappy story AND the truth is sometimes Love feels like it breaks down and forgets to beget…But, when you CARE DEEPLY despite the obstacles, when you LOVE GENEROUSLY even when the begetting breaks down…that’s real life
Before we close the service with prayer and worship…I want to echo what was preached last Sunday at the Church in the Park…
First of all, if you missed it, you really missed out…thousands gathered to fulfill a beautiful vision of unity…
God is so Cool…How He works everything out…Here I am preaching Caring Deeply and the focus of last week’s service very much compliments what I’m preaching and the vision God has been birthing in our church: everybody’s a minister, everybody needs a ministry…
This year’s focus was discipleship and honoring leaders of small groups or whatever you want to call it… Sunday school, bible studies, home groups, ect…
We have some small group ministry on Wednesday Evenings but, there’s something special and more intimate about Home groups…MABYE God is working in your heart to begin a home group in our church…Please come talk to me about it…
I know what your thinking…I’m not a leader…I would love to help and be a part of it but not the point person…But if everybody says that we never have any home groups…
Listen, don’t complicate it, it can be very easy to lead a home group…and the truth is, it’s better if the leader of a home group isn’t the charismatic leader type…Because it’s about sharing life together…Asking a lot of questions, not knowing all the answers…
So talk to me if God is calling you to jump into home group ministry…It truly is very rewarding if you get over your insecurities and just do it… There are so many great resources out there to help you make a great home group…
Scripture truly does support the need for corporate worship AND gathering in homes, doing all those one anothering things…
It is possible to attend church regularly, just practicing religion and never truly have a relationship with Jesus…That’s why these more intimate settings added to corporate worship can awaken the heart to truly becoming a disciple of Jesus…
Hebrews 10:23-25
The driver, a man in a suit, dress shoes, sunglasses and tie, leans out the window and asks the cowboy, 'If I tell you exactly how many cows and calves you have in your herd, Will you give me a calf?' Bud looks at the man, obviously a yuppie, then looks at his peacefully grazing herd and calmly answers, 'Sure. Why not?' The yuppie parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his Cingular cell phone, and surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo. The young man then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored. He then accesses a database through a connected Excel spreadsheet with email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response. Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-Tech Miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the cowboy and says, 'You have exactly 1,586 cows and calves.' 'That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my calves,' says Bud.
He watches the man select one of the animals and looks on amused as the man stuffs it into the trunk of his car. Then Bud says to the man, 'Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my calf?' The man thinks about it for a second and then says, 'Okay, why not?'
'You're a Televangelist,' says Bud.
'Wow! That's correct,' says the yuppie. 'But how did you guess that?' 'No guessing required,' answered the cowboy.
'You showed up here even though nobody called you.
You want to get paid for an answer I already knew, to a question I never asked.
You tried to show me how much smarter than me you are.
And you don't know a thing about cows.
'This is a herd of sheep --
now give me back my dog.'
Today we continue a sermon series entitled:Live Simply Love Generously Care Deeply Speak Kindly Leave the rest to God…Let’s dig into CARING DEEPLY
Remember you can visit my blog for review or sign up for a CD
You probably already know this about your pastor…But I’m a pretty EMOTIONAL person…It’s a strength and a weakness…The greatest struggle I’ve had as your pastor is People coming and going, actually I don’t mind the coming part it’s the going part…I was talking with some members of our church just this week who have decided to leave us…It always breaks my heart…Because I care deeply I try to talk them through it without manipulating AND ofcourse it doesn’t ever change their minds BUT it does let them know I love them and will miss them…I think RRAG is the greatest church in the world, I don’t ever want to give up on building a church that is truly all about loving God and loving people…
But I do not want to play the American Consumerism game…So many are going to church to see what they can get out of it…what ministries do you have to meet my needs…instead of going to give and to find ways to minister to…
One pastor said to me…you gotta get used to preaching to the parade…they come thru and sometimes they come around again but their always coming and going…I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to just get used to it because I really do CARE DEEPLY…I think I would rather feel my heart break than feel nothing at all…
Matthew 24:3-14
I know you have heard this time and time again…some of you all your lives growing up in the church…But I truly believe we are living in the last days
Or as verse 8 puts it…the beginning of sorrows
Today I think the Lord wants us to talk about some OBSTACLES TO CARING DEEPLY
Verse 10 of Matthew 24 says that many will be offended, betraying one another, hating one another…
I truly believe the greatest obstacle to the heart being able to CARE DEEPLY is being easily offended or being offended at all!
Once you choose to take up an offense you are only hurting yourself…the bitterness you live with does nothing to heal a relationship or if your feeling vindictive…hurt the other person your offended with…
Being quick to forgive and struggling hard to forget is the only way to live in freedom
Let this truth set you free today!
Verse 12 says because of lawlessness the love of many will grow cold…
Our society preaches unfaithfulness…our society knows nothing of commitment…
It’s like scotch tape
You stick it the first time it stays stuck pretty well…but then if you rip it off what it’s stuck to, some of the stickyness is lost and the more you stick it, the more it doesn’t stick…
Sounds like church hoppin…we’ve lost our stickyness…
My goodness you could use this analogy for every relational difficulty…families have lost their stickyness…marriage has lost it’s stickyness…friendship has lost it’s stickyness…the love of many has grown cold…
So, the obstacles to caring deeply
#1 taking offense
#2 loss of stickyness
Don’t roll your eyes at me…stickyness is a great theological word I just made up
Listen the only way to regain your stickyness, to become a new piece of scotch tape… is to practice commitment, faithfulness, Let the Spirit work his fruit in you…ask and you shall receive
Listen I’ve got the secret to CARING DEEPLY
You wanna hear it?
come back next week I’ll tell ya
Just kiddin
Verse 13…but he who endures to the end shall be saved
ENDURANCE…it’s the only path to real life, a life of abundant love and according to this verse eternal life in heaven…
Again the obstacles to caring deeply
1…taking offense
2…loss of stickyness
3…lack of endurance
This seems like the place most preachers add a good story…
He arrived late one night, on a business trip, so he decided to have dinner in the hotel. As he was finishing his meal, an older couple came in to dine. They were holding hands and had lovely smiles on their faces. They sat three tables from him. He was amazed at the love they showed for one another. It seemed to strike home, all the more, because this was shortly after ending a 20-year marriage and he still had such pain in his heart.
His waiter was also their waiter. As he paid his bill, he inquired as to what their bill was, the waiter informed him, and he gave him the $40 to pay their tab. The waiter asked if he knew them and he told him "No, I just wanted to repay them for the love that they were showing to each other," and then he departed. The next day his business meeting ended two hours before the flight back to Houston. He entered the restaurant to dine prior to his departure. After he had been seated the waiter, from the night before, came up to his table. The waiter said the strangest thing happened after you left the restaurant…When the older couple went to pay for their meal, they were informed that another guest had paid for it. When they inquired as to whom it was, the hostess told them they had never seen the man before, and that he said, "I just wanted to pay them back for the love that they were showing towards each other" and that he already had left the restaurant. The couple were amazed, they looked around, and asked for the bill of two young couples, who were seated together (in their 20's or 30's), paid their bill and departed saying "Love begets Love" to the amazement of the hostess and waiter.
The man smiled and said "That's nice," and ordered his meal. About 45 minutes later, he had finished his meal and was getting ready to head out, his waiter was no where to be found. He waited and waited and finally walked over to the Hostess stand and explained that he needed to pay for his meal and hurry and get to the airport. She smiled and explained that he would not have to pay for his meal. The waiter and hostess felt compelled to pay his bill, she said, due to the joy that was brought to the faces of the elderly couple and the amazement of the young couples from the night before. When he told her that they didn't have to do that, she said with a smile "Love begets Love."
I understand that that’s a sappy story AND the truth is sometimes Love feels like it breaks down and forgets to beget…But, when you CARE DEEPLY despite the obstacles, when you LOVE GENEROUSLY even when the begetting breaks down…that’s real life
Before we close the service with prayer and worship…I want to echo what was preached last Sunday at the Church in the Park…
First of all, if you missed it, you really missed out…thousands gathered to fulfill a beautiful vision of unity…
God is so Cool…How He works everything out…Here I am preaching Caring Deeply and the focus of last week’s service very much compliments what I’m preaching and the vision God has been birthing in our church: everybody’s a minister, everybody needs a ministry…
This year’s focus was discipleship and honoring leaders of small groups or whatever you want to call it… Sunday school, bible studies, home groups, ect…
We have some small group ministry on Wednesday Evenings but, there’s something special and more intimate about Home groups…MABYE God is working in your heart to begin a home group in our church…Please come talk to me about it…
I know what your thinking…I’m not a leader…I would love to help and be a part of it but not the point person…But if everybody says that we never have any home groups…
Listen, don’t complicate it, it can be very easy to lead a home group…and the truth is, it’s better if the leader of a home group isn’t the charismatic leader type…Because it’s about sharing life together…Asking a lot of questions, not knowing all the answers…
So talk to me if God is calling you to jump into home group ministry…It truly is very rewarding if you get over your insecurities and just do it… There are so many great resources out there to help you make a great home group…
Scripture truly does support the need for corporate worship AND gathering in homes, doing all those one anothering things…
It is possible to attend church regularly, just practicing religion and never truly have a relationship with Jesus…That’s why these more intimate settings added to corporate worship can awaken the heart to truly becoming a disciple of Jesus…
Hebrews 10:23-25
Monday, July 7, 2008
Church in the Park
The "Church of the Valley" 4th of July weekend Annual church in the Park was so well attended this year!
I'm not a very good judge of numbers but I'd say thousands of people showed up to demonstrate the power of unity in Worship!
Presbyterians, Pentecostals, Methodists, Baptists...everybody shed their titles and came together as CHRISTIANS!
What a wonderful vision!!!
This years emphasis was discipleship and honoring lay leaders of small groups (or whatever you wanna call it: sunday school, home groups, bible studies...)
We have a small group ministry on Wednesday evenings BUT there's something special and more intimate about HOME GROUPS!
If the LORD is leading you to start a home group in our church please come and talk to me!!!
PS...I saw a birdie in the tree at the church in the park!
Happy 4th of July
I know it's a little late...
Here's my little firecracker...
And some Dara cuties...
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Rooster Crow
Our little town loves it's rooster crow weekend!
We have a parade, car show, rows of unique retail booths, AND SERIOUSLY folks bring their roosters and have a contest to see who's rooster crows the most (I borrowed my neighbor's rooster one year when I was a teen)...
CLS won first prize for their float commemorating 30 years!
(They showed a wonderful power point presentation at church but I couldn't get the picts off the computer to put on my blog)
And...our water bottles were quite a hit for the second year in a row!
(A simple act of kindness like passing out free water bottles on a hot day makes a difference!)
Thanks again to Rusty for taking the lead in my absence...his mule made passing out the bottles easier (that's what they call the machine their in)...
Friday, June 27, 2008
Oh The Drama
Ok, so I thought pastoring was full of drama!
This parenting thing is rather overwhelming!
Holly and I have spent all week in the Hospital with our little boy...
His little body has been sick for who knows how long...it took 5 days in the hospital to bring his nutrition levels up where they belong...He's much better now and very smiley!
Things have been so crazy since returning from Ethiopia I haven't even had a chance to blog my sermon notes from last Sunday...
Here's an overview from memory, definately not as detailed as usual:
(remember you can always get a CD of Sunday's sermon: sign-up in foyer)
The ABC's of God's Generous LOVE
A: Adoption
James 1:27, John 14:18
( I went on a passionate interlude regarding REDEMPTION...check out your Bible dict.)
B: Belonging
Membership, Baptism...Matthew 3
C: Calling
1 Corinthians 1:26-
The Highest Calling is LOVE
This Scripture sums up today's msg: 1 John 3...How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
Next time you face life's difficulties...Remember God's Generous Love...You are adopted, You Belong, You are called...such amazing purpose, hope, life!
I can hardly wait until that day God signs our final adoption papers and we enter eternity with HIM!
I was kind of on an ABC kick Sunday: Don't forget the ABC's of salvation:
A: admit your sin
B: Believe in Jesus as Savior: crucified and risen
C: Confess Him as LORD
Because of all the adoption drama: Rusty will be leading tomorrow's acts of kindness, Pastor Fowler will be preaching Sunday, and Pastor Short will be officiating George Hill's memorial service Monday...
God is so good to me! Surrounding me with such amazing HELP!
That cliche' really is true...TEAM...Together Everyone Accomplishes More!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Home Sweet Home
If you've been following Holly's blog you know we almost didn't get to come home...
There was some paperwork problems in Ethiopia...
Have you ever seen that Movie with Sally Fields: Not without my daughter???
I almost felt like I was in that movie except: Not without my son!!!
I got sick...Holly got sick...baby got sick...JET LAG!!!
But now we are HOME SWEET HOME!
And we are all feeling better...
While we were in Ethiopia our amazing friends surprised us by building this amazing fence in front of our home...THANK YOU Misma, Rusty, Zach, Tabitha, Bo, Cindy!!!
See ya'll tomorrow morning at church!
PS...that picture up top is all 6 families who travelled with our adoption agency to get our kids, our new amazing friends...
Monday, June 2, 2008
Because I'll be off-line awhile...
I wanted to scan in the details of these two up-coming, exciting events...
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Happy Birthday Boo
I LOVE MY PUNKIN!
Holly's greatest birthday present ever is flying to Ethiopia to get our baby!
This will probably be my last blog before our trip, so for all you bloggin crazies...remember to check out Holly's blog for pictures and stuff while we're traveling...
Just click on the link on the left...
Love Generously: Sermon Notes from this morning's Celebration Service
Grandpa Jones was celebrating his 100th birthday and everybody complimented him on how athletic and well-preserved he appeared. "Gentlemen, I will tell you the secret of my success," he cackled. "I have been in the open air day after day for some 75 years now."
The celebrants were impressed and asked how he managed to keep up his rigorous fitness regime.
"Well, you see my wife and I were married 75 years ago. On our wedding night, we made a solemn pledge. Whenever we had a fight, the one who was proved wrong would go outside and take a walk."
This week Holly celebrates her 30th bday
Mabye I’ll be in shape by my 100th bday cause I wrong a lot too
Today we continue a sermon series entitled:Live Simply Love Generously Care Deeply Speak Kindly Leave the rest to God…If you missed the last couple week’s focus on Living Simply I encourage you to visit my blog or sign up for the CD
This morning I want to begin our focus on LOVE GENEROUSLY
We are endeavoring to truly be all about Loving God and Loving People at RRAG
Jesus summed up the entire bible in Matthew 22 by commanding we love God with all our heart soul mind and strength and love our neighbor as our self
I could preach on love every Sunday until Jesus comes back and never scratch the surface
This week an OT story came into my head which I believe sums up Loving Generously, who remembers the story of Mephibosheth…I want us to learn how to love generously from the beautiful OT account of Mephibosheth
So let’s go to 2 Samuel 9…
Find Stand Read Pray
2 Sam 4:4 tells how Mephibosheth became crippled…
2 Sam 16:1-4 this tells us that even when we love generously people will fail us…but love them anyway
There were three words that jumped off my bible when I was studying 2 sam 9
Verse 3…unfailing, unsought, unlimited (Amplified)
LET’s talk about LOVE
Unfailing unsought unlimited
1. Unfailing Love
1 Cor 13, go there…
I can never get tired of such beautiful, life changing scripture
Living 1 Cor 13 is heaven on earth
TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING THROUGH THE DESERT DURING SOME POINT OF THE JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE IN THE FACE. THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING, WROTE IN THE SAND:TODAY MY BEST FRIENDSLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.THEY KEPT ON WALKING, UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS, WHERE THEY DECIDED TO TAKE A BATH THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE MIRE AND STARTED DROWNING, BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM THE NEAR DROWNING,HE WROTE ON A STONE:'TODAY MY BEST FRIENDSAVED MY LIFE.'THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND ASKED HIM, 'AFTER I HURT YOU, YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW,YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?'THE FRIEND REPLIED 'WHEN SOMEONE HURTS USWE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING GOOD FOR US, WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE WHERE NO WINDCAN EVER ERASE IT.'LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS INTHE SAND AND TO CARVE YOURBENEFITS IN STONE.
That’s unfailing Love
2. Unsought Love
Many times in our relationships with family, friends even strangers
We wait to show or give our love until it’s asked or needed sometimes we wait so long it becomes a desperate thing
What if we practiced unsought love
This is really what the random acts of kindness movement is all about
It’s the inspiration for our Rooster Crow Acts of Kindness event…Just wanted to show you God’s love in a practical way
This could be a lot of fun
What if we looked for ways to surprise family, friends, perfect strangers with a simple act of love
A card in the mail, a listening ear, an invitation to whatever…ask the HS to lead you to some unsought love
Isn’t it true that receiving something without asking for it brings such joy more joy than if you would have had to ask
Yes, scripture says we need to be on our knees asking seeking knocking but if you know Jesus like I do He’s really good at unsought love, Jesus is very playful
One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man andhis wife entered the lobby of a small hotel inPhiladelphia. Trying to get out of the rain, thecouple approached the front desk hoping to get someshelter for the night."Could you possibly give us a room here?" the husbandasked. The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile,looked at the couple and explained that there werethree conventions in town."All of our rooms are taken," the clerk said. "But Ican't send a nice couple like you out into the rain atone o'clock in the morning. Would you perhaps bewilling to sleep in my room? It's not exactly asuite, but it will be good enough to make you folkscomfortable for the night."When the couple declined, the young man pressed on."Don't worry about me; I'll make out just fine," theclerk told them. So the couple agreed.As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly mansaid to the clerk, "You are the kind of manager whoshould be the boss of the best hotel in the UnitedStates. Maybe someday I'll build one for you."The clerk looked at them and smiled. The three ofthem had a good laugh.As they drove away, the elderly couple agreed thatthe helpful clerk was indeed exceptional, as findingpeople who are both friendly and helpful isn't easy.Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten theincident when he received a letter from the old man.It recalled that stormy night and enclosed around-trip ticket to New York, asking the young man topay them a visit.The old man met him in New York, and led him to thecorner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He thenpointed to a great new building there, a palace ofreddish stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrustingup to the sky."That," said the older man, "is the hotel I have justbuilt for you to manage.""You must be joking," the young man said."I can assure you I am not," said the older man, a slysmile playing around his mouth.The older man's name was William Waldorf Astor, andthe magnificent structure was the originalWaldorf-Astoria Hotel.The young clerk who became its first manager wasGeorge C. Boldt. This young clerk never foresaw theturn of events that would lead him to become themanager of one of the world's most glamorous hotels.We are not to turn our backs on those who are in need, for we might be entertaining angels.Life is more accurately measured by the lives youtouch than the things you acquire...
Unfailing unsought Love
3. Unlimited Love
Let me say again and again
No matter where you’ve been no matter what you’ve done you can begin again God loves you with an unfailing unsought unlimited unconditional love!
Come to Jesus ABC
I love the way Exodus 34 speaks of God’s unlimited love
Moses wanted to experience the Presence of God
Verse 6 and the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD! The LORD! A God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth…
Abounding unlimited LOVE
I found this poem entitled More than enough, the author is anonymous
Have you ever thought about the extravagance of God.More sky than man can seeMore sea than he can sailMore sun than he can bear to watchMore stars than he can scaleMore breath than he can breatheMore yield than he can sowMore grace than he can comprehendMore love than he can know
Love Generously
Unfailing unsought unlimited
The celebrants were impressed and asked how he managed to keep up his rigorous fitness regime.
"Well, you see my wife and I were married 75 years ago. On our wedding night, we made a solemn pledge. Whenever we had a fight, the one who was proved wrong would go outside and take a walk."
This week Holly celebrates her 30th bday
Mabye I’ll be in shape by my 100th bday cause I wrong a lot too
Today we continue a sermon series entitled:Live Simply Love Generously Care Deeply Speak Kindly Leave the rest to God…If you missed the last couple week’s focus on Living Simply I encourage you to visit my blog or sign up for the CD
This morning I want to begin our focus on LOVE GENEROUSLY
We are endeavoring to truly be all about Loving God and Loving People at RRAG
Jesus summed up the entire bible in Matthew 22 by commanding we love God with all our heart soul mind and strength and love our neighbor as our self
I could preach on love every Sunday until Jesus comes back and never scratch the surface
This week an OT story came into my head which I believe sums up Loving Generously, who remembers the story of Mephibosheth…I want us to learn how to love generously from the beautiful OT account of Mephibosheth
So let’s go to 2 Samuel 9…
Find Stand Read Pray
2 Sam 4:4 tells how Mephibosheth became crippled…
2 Sam 16:1-4 this tells us that even when we love generously people will fail us…but love them anyway
There were three words that jumped off my bible when I was studying 2 sam 9
Verse 3…unfailing, unsought, unlimited (Amplified)
LET’s talk about LOVE
Unfailing unsought unlimited
1. Unfailing Love
1 Cor 13, go there…
I can never get tired of such beautiful, life changing scripture
Living 1 Cor 13 is heaven on earth
TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING THROUGH THE DESERT DURING SOME POINT OF THE JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE IN THE FACE. THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING, WROTE IN THE SAND:TODAY MY BEST FRIENDSLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.THEY KEPT ON WALKING, UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS, WHERE THEY DECIDED TO TAKE A BATH THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE MIRE AND STARTED DROWNING, BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM.AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM THE NEAR DROWNING,HE WROTE ON A STONE:'TODAY MY BEST FRIENDSAVED MY LIFE.'THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND ASKED HIM, 'AFTER I HURT YOU, YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW,YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?'THE FRIEND REPLIED 'WHEN SOMEONE HURTS USWE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY.BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING GOOD FOR US, WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE WHERE NO WINDCAN EVER ERASE IT.'LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS INTHE SAND AND TO CARVE YOURBENEFITS IN STONE.
That’s unfailing Love
2. Unsought Love
Many times in our relationships with family, friends even strangers
We wait to show or give our love until it’s asked or needed sometimes we wait so long it becomes a desperate thing
What if we practiced unsought love
This is really what the random acts of kindness movement is all about
It’s the inspiration for our Rooster Crow Acts of Kindness event…Just wanted to show you God’s love in a practical way
This could be a lot of fun
What if we looked for ways to surprise family, friends, perfect strangers with a simple act of love
A card in the mail, a listening ear, an invitation to whatever…ask the HS to lead you to some unsought love
Isn’t it true that receiving something without asking for it brings such joy more joy than if you would have had to ask
Yes, scripture says we need to be on our knees asking seeking knocking but if you know Jesus like I do He’s really good at unsought love, Jesus is very playful
One stormy night many years ago, an elderly man andhis wife entered the lobby of a small hotel inPhiladelphia. Trying to get out of the rain, thecouple approached the front desk hoping to get someshelter for the night."Could you possibly give us a room here?" the husbandasked. The clerk, a friendly man with a winning smile,looked at the couple and explained that there werethree conventions in town."All of our rooms are taken," the clerk said. "But Ican't send a nice couple like you out into the rain atone o'clock in the morning. Would you perhaps bewilling to sleep in my room? It's not exactly asuite, but it will be good enough to make you folkscomfortable for the night."When the couple declined, the young man pressed on."Don't worry about me; I'll make out just fine," theclerk told them. So the couple agreed.As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly mansaid to the clerk, "You are the kind of manager whoshould be the boss of the best hotel in the UnitedStates. Maybe someday I'll build one for you."The clerk looked at them and smiled. The three ofthem had a good laugh.As they drove away, the elderly couple agreed thatthe helpful clerk was indeed exceptional, as findingpeople who are both friendly and helpful isn't easy.Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten theincident when he received a letter from the old man.It recalled that stormy night and enclosed around-trip ticket to New York, asking the young man topay them a visit.The old man met him in New York, and led him to thecorner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He thenpointed to a great new building there, a palace ofreddish stone, with turrets and watchtowers thrustingup to the sky."That," said the older man, "is the hotel I have justbuilt for you to manage.""You must be joking," the young man said."I can assure you I am not," said the older man, a slysmile playing around his mouth.The older man's name was William Waldorf Astor, andthe magnificent structure was the originalWaldorf-Astoria Hotel.The young clerk who became its first manager wasGeorge C. Boldt. This young clerk never foresaw theturn of events that would lead him to become themanager of one of the world's most glamorous hotels.We are not to turn our backs on those who are in need, for we might be entertaining angels.Life is more accurately measured by the lives youtouch than the things you acquire...
Unfailing unsought Love
3. Unlimited Love
Let me say again and again
No matter where you’ve been no matter what you’ve done you can begin again God loves you with an unfailing unsought unlimited unconditional love!
Come to Jesus ABC
I love the way Exodus 34 speaks of God’s unlimited love
Moses wanted to experience the Presence of God
Verse 6 and the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD! The LORD! A God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving-kindness and truth…
Abounding unlimited LOVE
I found this poem entitled More than enough, the author is anonymous
Have you ever thought about the extravagance of God.More sky than man can seeMore sea than he can sailMore sun than he can bear to watchMore stars than he can scaleMore breath than he can breatheMore yield than he can sowMore grace than he can comprehendMore love than he can know
Love Generously
Unfailing unsought unlimited
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