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!

quote

Here is a quote I read on Perry Noble's blog and it made me stop in my tracks.

"I had a counselor tell me recently, “In the Bible God calls those who will not work LAZY…but He calls those who will not rest DISOBEDIENT!”

Now there is a thought to ponder!!!!

Time to get back in the groove

I took a few weeks off from blogging and in that time so much has happened that I thought I would just knock out some bullet points to catch up. So here's some of what I've experienced in the past few weeks.

• Celebrated New Year's in West Virginia and saw WVU lose to FSU at Bobby Bowden's last game as head coach.
• Saw Natalie play in the snow for the first time...including the construction of a snowman, snowball fight, sledding, and the high calorie eating of the snow.
• Had death impact friends and family as only that enemy can do. Pray for comfort for the grieving.
• Preached a sermon on the inseparable connection between God's will and God's word. God rocked that one!!!
• Was extremely encouraged by two believers who just want to be used by God and be supportive of their pastors. Thanks guys. You don't know how much that means.
• I turned 36 recently. Who knows what God has planned this year? At 35 I ran a marathon and saw the birth of our second child. That alone will fill up a year!!!!
• I am entering the world of electric guitar. It was once said that the electric guitar is of the devil. I guess I like living on the edge.:-)
• This Sunday is our homecoming at WJACC. We are kicking off our week of Spiritual Enrichment with additional services Sunday (6pm), Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (7pm). Brent Ross will be our special speaker through the entire week and I am pumped!! Brent is a man after God's own heart and has a desire to see people come closer to an Almighty God. Please invite your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors for this special week of worship.
• "Fireside Blend" from World Market is some of THE best coffee I have ever tried.
• We are going through Colossians in our Wed. night Bible study and God is showing us just how mysterious He really is. He is so cool and sooooo creative.
• Finally, I hope and pray that this blog has been an encouragement for someone this past year and it is my prayer that you may benefit from it in some way this coming year. Just by reading my humble ramblings you play a role in my walk with Christ and I hope this forum is an encouragement for you in your walk with Christ as well.
• ps. Here's a will willimon quote that made me laugh so hard the other day I almost had to pull over..."I saw a sign the other day that read...'a church for those who don't like church'...I thought, man I don't want to deal with folks that don't like church. I can barely stand the ones that love the church." (Don't be offended by that statement...just laugh and carry on. :-)

100 entries!!!

I have officially reached my goal of 100 blog entries for the year!!! Yeah!!! I know not all of them have been actual thoughts of mine but I have tried to at least put something interesting on the blog each time. For example...check out this video that was played at Newspring during their Christmas series...good stuff...

Christmas Opener: Just Come Home from NewSpring Production on Vimeo.

Advent-Christmas Eve

The final Advent devotion this year was not one that I wrote out but is one we talked about at our Christmas Eve service.

Luke 2:41-52
41Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.
42And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.
43And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it,
44but supposing him to be in the group they went a day’s journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
45and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him.
46After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
47And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
48And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress." 49And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?"
50And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them.
51And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
52And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

At a very early age Jesus showed that His life was all about ministry. To Him ministry was listening to the Father and doing what He said. Jesus gives us some simple commands. Love God and others. Make disciples. Sometimes we try to make life waaaaay too complicated. Everything boils down to those simple things. Life is ministry. You may not be in a paid position somewhere but as a believer in Jesus Christ you are a minister. Listen to Him and do what He says.

The Promise-Advent #4

The Promise

Luke 2:25-33 (English Standard Version)
25Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29"Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;30for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel."
33And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.

Devotion
God is the keeper of His promises. If God says it then it must be true. It may be hard for some people to wrap their minds around those statements. After many disappointments in life it becomes easy to not trust anyone. Broken promises can harden our hearts towards people and even toward God.
Simeon lived a long time with only a promise to hang on to. The promise was he would one day see with his own eyes the salvation of the Lord. We don’t know how long he waited but we do know that eventually God fulfilled His promise.
No matter what anyone else says, we serve a perfect, all-knowing, faithful God. He always keeps His promises. He always has and He always will. He is not like anyone else.
Jesus said, “I am with you always.”
Jesus said, “Yes, I am coming quickly.”
This advent season we celebrate a God who refuses to leave us by ourselves and who promises that one day we will see Him face to face. We can believe these promises and because of this we can celebrate with hope, joy, peace, and love.
Let us listen to the promises of Jesus this season and know they are true.

Prayer:
Dear Father, Help me to be like Simeon, a person who is so excited about seeing you that no matter how long it takes for You to return, I can wait with a sense of eager anticipation. I pray that You will help me to wait in such a way that I don't ever become ho-hum, callused, or just give lip service to Your return. I also pray that You will use me as you did Simeon, to be an example to others. I ask that You give me the desire to be a "righteous" and "devout" person, and that others will recognize those qualities, benefit by my actions, and as a result come to a saving knowledge of Your Son, Jesus. Father, I thank You for Your faithfulness, Your promises, for loving me unconditionally, and always being with me. Help me to be a "light" for You as I eagerly wait for Your return.

In Jesus Name,
Amen.
(prayer written by Rev. Jim Crouse)

world of adventure

I love this picture!!!! Right now it is the background on my computer. Others have seen it and love it also. It's just a really cool picture. However, today I realized that there's more to it than that.

At 3 years old my daughter has a lifetime of adventure and opportunity ahead of her. She will test some waters.
There will be times when she will dive right in.
There will be moments when the waves will be over her head.
There will be beauty.
There will be noise.
There will be places to go.

Through it all she will have a daddy that is right behind her.
Encouraging her.
Supporting her.
Loving her.
Watching her.
Enjoying the moments.
Guarding her.
Laughing with her.

I love being a dad. It seems like when I start having those overwhelming paternal feelings God taps me on the shoulder and says, "You're my child too."

Wow! Thank you God for always loving,
always encouraging,
always guarding,
always supporting,
always watching,
always being God.

Tiger Woods

Everywhere you turn lately everyone seems to be reporting on Tiger Woods and his family. You hear more about them than what's going on in the Middle East with Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc...

I have to admit that I am becoming more and more frustrated. I don't really want to hear any more about it but every time I check the news there seems to be a new development that they can not wait to tell me about.

Then today I found the following two posts on one of my favorite blogs.
Here's the first one that brought back some memories of several years ago.

Now read the followup to that. I think we all need to read this one from time to time.

Wow! We all need a savior! This Christmas we celebrate His birth! Thank you, LORD!!!!!

The Community-Advent #3

Luke 2:8-20 (English Standard Version)
The Shepherds and the Angels

"8And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. 10And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"

15When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us." 16And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."

Devotion
One angel’s announcement made way for a host of angels praising God together. The news they shared that night was given to a group of individuals. Shepherds knew what it meant to be together. They worked together and ate together. They lived life, one day at a time, together. So when they received the good news that a Savior was born they immediately went to find Him and worship Him…together.

The Bible calls the church “the Body of Christ.” We can only be a body if we have many, multi-varied members. Raising our different voices together is to follow the example of the angels in a Holy Activity.

Together God uses us to bring glory to Himself. It may be in song, in corporate prayer, or even through lending a helping hand. Together we can celebrate this advent season by encouraging each other towards our Lord and Savior just as the shepherds did that starry night long ago.

Prayer-

Father God,

During this Christmas season may you instill in us a spirit of oneness that speaks to our love for you and bring glory to your name. As the body of Christ may you give us the vision to look beyond our personal needs, problems and opinions in order to see into the hearts and lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Show us how to encourage one another on towards love and good deeds, and may we do it as long as it's called today. Help us to remember that how we love and encourage one another is our greatest testimony to an unbelieving world.

In Jesus Name we pray,

Amen.
(prayer by Rev. Ken Latimore)