Read this!

Here is a great post by Steven Furtick take a few minutes to think about that, and ask God how high He would like to throw you.

Have a great day!

Compelling Quote

I picked up this quote on Perry Noble's blog which he quoted from a book called "Crazy Love" and it really verbalizes a lot of what God has been speaking to me lately.

“Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”

1. What are you giving a ton of energy to, that in reality does not matter?
2. What are you giving to something insignificant that should be reserved for the Kingdom and the glory of God?
3. What has stolen your heart and taken your focus off of Jesus?

I think that we need to really evaluate what is important to us and make sure it lines up with what is important to God. Have a great time wrestling with that :)

Automatic doors and other random thoughts.

I guess that I am really asking God right now for wisdom. I realize the great desire that God has to reach out to share His love with those who don't yet know Him, and that He has called us to get involved with His mission on the earth. I have been losing a lot of sleep over this for a while and it, quite honestly, consumes me. I don't even want to pretend to have the answers on how to do this but I wake up each day, and ask God to help me reach someone that day.

I realize that we are not perfect as a church and that we don't always get it right, but this is my dream as a pastor, and each time I walk into a department store I am reminded of my dream. I dream of being a church that in nature would be like the automatic doors at a store. That we would be open to anyone, no matter how short or tall, how fat or slim, no matter what colour, no matter how many problems, no matter how rich or poor, and no matter what we think or don't think. I dream of being a church where "whosoever will may come". This is the dream that I have and I pray that it is your dream also. Let's try really hard to show the love of God to people as we come in contact with them.


John 3:16-17

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Me or Jesus?

This has been an incredible year of growth for me, and I am so thankful to God for the things He has taught me. I guess the big question that I have had to come to grips with is the "Me or Jesus" question. I have let this question seep into every part of my life. Here are a few examples:

1. When I am evaluating whether or not I can do something, I have to bring Jesus into the question in a few ways, such as, motive (Am I doing this with Kingdom purpose?) ability (Do I have the gift mix to accomplish this and with the power of the Holy Spirit do I have the horse power), and priority (is this part of God's call on my life).
2. When I am raising my sons I have to ask if am I am trying to shape them into mini Me's or am I forming them into Christ's image?
3. When I am walking out my marriage I have to ask am I just living for my pleasure or are we displaying God's glory through our relationship.
4. and the list goes on........

How about you, how much do you allow Jesus to be a part of your everyday life? What changes do you need to make? Who do you need to invite to church on Sunday?(Sorry I had to throw that in ;) )

Things to be thinking about.

I am stoked! I am so excited about what God is doing and I know that it is just the beginning. We went out this morning and raked leaves for people just to show them God's love with no strings attached. I am praying that the seeds sown this morning will be effective in leading some people to Christ but also that those who participated would also feel as though they had drawn closer.

People, we are living in a world that is desperately in need of Jesus, and we have been given the responsibility, and privilege of helping them find Him. I am praying that God will give us wisdom on how we can do a better job of that. Here are a few things you could pray about.

1. Pray about who you should be inviting to church over this next few weeks as we tackle the subject of marriage, dating and sex.
2. We are getting ready for our Christmas service, so pray about who you could invite for that. That service will be totally geared to reaching lost people, because Christmas is a time that people that don't go to church will go, so don't miss the opportunity!
3. This week I am hoping to get away on Tuesday and Wednesday to pray and set the direction for o9 so please pray that God will give me wisdom and that I will be able to connect with His heart for the coming year.
4. Next week I am going to be dealing with the subject of sex, and it is going to be tense so pray that God will give me the courage to say what God wants me to say about the subject.

Thanks for all you do!