Friday's randomness

• Check out the ten commandments of preaching here. It's a great reminder for all who attempt to communicate the gospel each and every week.
• Saw a very disturbing image of Homer Simpson today...and I thought the ones who showed it to me were my friends...oh well.
• If I didn't know it before I know it now...Ed Young is a nut...gotta love the video below

ubu

Bill's invitation

So yesterday at church we had a couple of visitors join us in our morning worship service. They were a mother and son who had been invited by Bill who was friends with the son. Bill's invitation was accompanied by a church bulletin so they would remember the name of the church and the location. This mother and son enjoyed the service and we look forward to worshiping with them again soon.

Now to WJACC folks this story may not seem too out of the ordinary. After all Bill is one of the nicest people God has ever created. No one has ever said one cross word about Bill. He is just that lovable of a guy.

For those who may not know Bill, he has Down's Syndrome. He is in his 50's (which is it's own miracle) and is a vibrant and vital part of this church body. He is definitely taking a message of hope and encouragement out to his friends where ever they are.

Today my thought is...if Bill can be unhindered by something like Down's Syndrome then what's my excuse?

Balance

Every church is good at something. Over the last 90 years WJACC has been good at several things. Creating a family atmosphere. Reaching out to the neighborhood. Worshiping. Praying...and the list goes on and on. Recently we've come to the conclusion that most of the time we have focused on one area to the neglect of another. So here is our goal for ministry starting now.

Balance.

All areas of ministry are seeking a balance of three things.

1. Community-building the believer, equipping the saints for ministry, forging the identity of the body of Christ and the family of God


2. Outreach-spreading the gospel of Jesus to a lost and dying world. Being a force of encouragement and hope.


3. Worship-realizing that there is no greater privilege than to worship, in spirit and in truth, the Almighty God of the Universe.

Every Sunday School class, prayer group, Bible study, board member, pastor, etc. can ask..."How am I encouraging/integrating these three areas in an intentional way where God has put me?"

I don't know what all God has planned for 2010 but I do know that His ways/plans are always much better than mine.

Please pray as we seek God's balance in ministry at WJACC.

**If you are not a believer or church goer I want to invite you to consider "Why not". God only wants the best for you and His love and faithfulness is always the BEST! You don't have to walk through life alone.

another quote

“The greatest challenge the church faces today is to be authentic disciples of Jesus.”
Dallas Willard

The only thing I would add to this at the moment is that the challenge is to be disciples who make disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples, who...

Psalm 85:2

Psalm 85:2 (English Standard Version)
2You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you covered all their sin.
Selah

I read a verse like this and I am amazed at how complete God's Forgiveness and Grace really is. As a pastor I am always wandering how my words and actions are making an impact in the body of Christ. However, we should all be wandering what influence we have no matter our position. The church is a unique force in that it is a body. What happens to one part affects the whole in one way or the other.

So knowing that God has covered our sin and has forgiven we can have the assurance that we can live and move and have our being as free people. Free from guilt. Free from condemnation. Free from that stupid thing that is weighing us down because we have been trying to handle it instead of surrendering it to the capable hands of Jesus.

So in thinking about all of this here's the questions of the day.
Have I added to others' guilt or reminded others' of their freedom in Christ today?

Is my attitude that of a victim of circumstances or a victor in my position in Christ?

What kind of picture do my words and actions paint about the Christian life to nonbelievers?

If you are reading this and you do not know Jesus personally I invite you to ask this question.
Is there really freedom available in this Jesus? If so what am I waiting for?

new poll

Allison had a poll question on her blog that I thought I would try here. Let me know what you think. Look on the right column.

today's links

• Clayton nails it with this post. Be sure and take a moment to consider this.
• Last Friday had a Daddy/Daughter date with Natalie. Don't have a link for this but thought it was cool enough to share with everyone.
• Quote of the day...“Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure”–D.L. Moody
• Check out the latest digital version of Catalyst Leadership here.
• Hope everyone is having a great day!!!

Monday morning thoughts

• Yesterday was a great day to celebrate LOVE! I think I'll do that some more. You know...celebrate LOVE!
• This Wednesday night is our church semi-annual meeting where we are presenting our reports for last year and looking ahead for this year. I'm always as to what all God is up to and this year is no exception. I can not wait to see!
• The Olympics are going on right now and the American team has at least one gold medal already! U-S-A! Yeah! I love the Olympics!
• Next Sunday we are kicking off a series about strengthening families. Please pray that God will show us how will can build healthy families with God's Word.
• Here is the conversation of the week...Allison: "Please put this headband on and leave it on. Daddy said you wouldn't wear it but I really liked it. So please wear it so Mommy can be right." Natalie: "OK Mommy."
• I love my family!!!

relationships

Ministry is all about relationships. Just in the past week I've encountered numerous times when relationship is either talked about or experienced in one way or the other.

There are some who think relationships are good but not essential to spreading the Gospel. While I admire their focus on the Gospel I have to question the lack of relationships being a necessity. After all anyone you come in contact with you have some type of relationship to. It may just be a total stranger but the way you "relate" to them will determine how you communicate the Gospel of Jesus.

Now, as we build the relationships around us we have more and more opportunities to communicate God's love and grace and mercy. What a privilege God allows us to invest time and energy into others for the sake of HIS Gospel, HIS Kingdom, HIS church.

Here's my encouragement for you today. Use whatever relationship God places in front of you today to communicate His Gospel so that someone may draw closer to a living Savior.

1 Thessalonians 2:8 (New International Version)
"8We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us."

Ortberg quote

Here's a quote from John Ortberg. I can't wait to get a copy of his new book..."The Me I want to Be".

"Jesus did not say, 'I have come that you may follow my rules'. Jesus said, 'I have come that you may have life and have it with abundance'. Most people equate spiritual growth with trying hard to follow the rules in the Bible. No wonder people also said they find themselves unmotivated to pursue spiritual growth. Because if I think God's aim is to produce rule followers spiritual growth will always be an obligation category rather than in the "want to" category."

Like I said I can't wait to get a hold of this book. I'm curious to see where all Ortberg goes with all of this. If you'd like to see a little more check out the video clip here.

God's love

I read this quote the other day by C.H. Spurgeon...

“I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love“

My first thought was...
1 John 4:19 (New American Standard Bible)
"We love, because He first loved us. "

At the moment I can not even put into words how overwhelming all of this is. We talk about love. We teach and preach about love. We do our best to love our families and friends. We are even commanded to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves.

With all of this talk about love, none of it would even be remotely possible without a God and Savior that first loved us. Who introduced the very concept of love to us. God is love. (I John 4:8) He wants to have a relationship with us so much that He has introduced His very essence to us in love so that we may know Him and experience who He really is. LOVE!

What does all of this mean? I am spending a lifetime learning that. However, I do know this...I can not truly love anything or anyone apart from God Himself. It would be foolish and pitiful at best.

Monday's weekend review

This past weekend was good but packed full. Here's a small glipse of what we experienced over the last couple of days.

• Saturday we stood in line for a looooooong time to register Natalie for VPK. It was a big moment for us as our little girl is growing sooooo fast.
• Something I learned about parents waiting in line to register their 3 and 4 year olds for VPK: Some like to dress ready to go clubbin'. You never know when they might break out the open bar and turn on the loud music! Seriously! Put some more clothes on.
• We had the chance to eat dinner with a friend who was in town for a conference Saturday night. Good times with Sarah! I just have one thing to say...red velvet cake cheesecake...you read that right and it was AMAZING!!!!!
• Sunday rocked the planet! Rev. Brent Ross is here at WJACC as our guest speaker for our Spiritual Enrichment week of services. Brent is a good long time friend and speaks God's Word from the heart. I can not even begin to describe how encouraging these services have been so far.
• Tonight is our next service. If you are in the area come out tonight and join us. The service starts at 7pm. We'll look for you.
• I was introduced today to a new BBQ place. In a word...YUMMO!