What about love?

I think the word love is an amazing word that has the power to change everything, and in fact has changed everything. Two thousand years ago God put His love on display for the human race as His Son Jesus hung between heaven and earth and laid down His life so that we could be saved. His love changed everything and some times we take that for granted and even at times allow Him to become common to us.

Today I just want to encourage you to take some time to think about the love that changed everything and then take a bit of time to say thanks to the one who put His love on display for..........you:)

But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him. Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way.
Romans 5:8-9 MESSAGE
 
Why not tell someone today?

Mother's Day!

I have to say when I think about the whole Mother's Day thing, I am a very blessed man! I was raised by a great mother who loves Jesus and helped all of her kids to love Jesus too. I have a great mother in law who never interferes and whom we would like to have visit more, who raised Kristine to love Jesus. The mothers in my life are cool, low maintenance moms.

Then there is my sweet wife Kristine. She is such an awesome mother in every way. She cares for and loves my boys and teaches them the ways of Jesus, she is constantly growing (Mentally and Spiritually) in order to serve her family better. I know that my sons and I love her and appreciate her more than words can say!

Thanks to all the great women in my life, it is better because you are a part of it!

Give thanks lately?

What a great worship service we had yesterday, a big thank you to our worship team they are awesome! During the worship time we were encouraged to stop for a few moments and give thanks to God, and we did. As I was giving thanks so many things flooded my heart. so I thought it would be cool if on this blog we would take some time to say thanks. I will begin with my thanks and you can comment with your thanks and this could be a great testimony time!

I am so thankful to the Lord because He has blessed me in so many ways! He has given me Salvation through His death and resurrection, He has given me the most amazing and Godly wife and to amazing sons.
He has given me great parents who loved God with their lives and not just their mouths. He has given me two brothers and a sister who along with their families give their lives to make the name of Jesus famous. He has given me really cool nephews and nieces who love and serve God. He has given me amazing in laws who also love Jesus and my wife and kids, and even me most of the time;) I am thankful for Nic who is about to join our family on July 3rd when he marries my mom.

I am thankful that God has allowed me to serve Him in this house for thirty two years, and still love this house today! I am thankful that I get to build His kingdom, and do life with my friends, the people of Jubilee. I love that I get to do life with the people I love! I am thankful that God has placed us in Dunnville and that we get to serve the people of this region. And I will leave some space for you so just click on the comments button and give thanks.

Pastor Appreciation!

It is Pastor appreciation month in October and I just want to thank the people in my life that have been pastoring me and pouring into my life.

1. Pastor Paul thank you so much for challenging me and helping me to become who God has called me to be. Thank you for believing in me even when I wasn't sure that I believed in myself, you and Elaine are a blessing to Kristine and I and we wouldn't want to do life without you.
2. Pastor Steve and Beth, thank you for all the advice and encouragement that you have given to us. Thanks for asking us good questions about our personal lives and ministry. Thank you for sharing your time and your life with us. thanks for taking care of us at conferences, and for giving us the opportunity to connect with amazing leaders. Thanks for caring about us and our sons.

I am so thankful for all the other people that mentor me and I just want to say thanks to Pastor Peter Dempsey, Pastor Ted Yuke, Len Zoeteman, and Kevin and Sheila Gerald for all you do for me. You are all awesome leaders in God's Kingdom!

Thanksgiving!

Wow! It is already Thanksgiving weekend, where did the year go? Well what are you thankful for? I think one of the main characteristics of a Christ follower should be a thankful heart with words to express it! so why don't you take a few minutes just to stop and give thanks to God for all that He has given to you. Here are a few things that I am thankful for.

1. I am thankful for a loving God who made a way for me to be forgiven and set free from sin, and Jesus His son who followed through on His plan of redemption, and the Holy Spirit that empowers me to live for God and to share His love with others!
2. I am thankful for the amazing woman that He gave me to do life with, and for her love and passion for the kingdom of God, our family and for me. I love you so much Kristine!
3. I am thankful for my sons, Levi and Logan, they are my greatest treasures and they make me so proud of them. I can see Jesus in them and I love them so much!
4. I am thankful for my parents, because the taught me to live my dreams and to never settle just because my dreams seem impossible!
5. I am thankful for Kristine's parents because they are so good to us and their love for Jesus is a great heritage for my sons.
6. I am thankful for all my brothers and sisters (Natural and In laws) because God has given me a great gift of friendship through them.
7. I am thankful for all the awesome people that I get to do life with at Jubilee, because most of them are like family to me, and because we are going to rock this community for Jesus together.
8. I am thankful that I have no lack and that I get to bless others from time to time.
9. I am thankful that I am healthy
10. I can keep going forever but you get the idea.

Tomorrow is going to be an amazing day at Jubilee so pray, invite someone, and come expecting God to do something good!

Yard Sale Success!

What a great day! We probably had about two to three hundred people come through the Yard Sale today, and they got served very well. we were able to shine the love of Jesus in our community in a big way! Thanks to every one that helped out, the people were blown away by your generosity and your desire to serve them. Let's keep making the name of Jesus famous. I believe that there are a ton of visitors coming tomorrow so here are a few things you can do.

1. Pray that they will experience the love and the power of Jesus in the service, and that if they don't know Him yet that they will make a next step toward Him.
2. Come on time and really try to be in the auditorium when the service starts.
3. Take the time to welcome our guests and make them feel at home.

Kristine and I were pretty excited, because last week some of the people we have been inviting turned up in the service, and were really moved by the message. Keep inviting people, it is really important, maybe even go a step further than inviting and bring someone to church with you!

Ready to make a difference!

I am so stoked! As I was cutting my grass today I was thinking about the incredible love of God and how thankful I am that He loves me(personally). Sometimes I can be such a bone head and sometimes I can be so judgemental and opinionated but God looks past that and loves me any way. I don't think He wants me to remain the same but His grace is always shown whenever I ask Him to forgive me and honestly turn toward Him! I just want to tell the world!

This has been an incredible week of growth and challenge and once again I thank God for the people in my life. I am really looking forward to the service tomorrow and I really believe that it is an important moment for us as a church. Please remember to pray and come expecting God to do great things! Don't forget it is Cafe Sunday so don't rush out after the service instead take some time to be with us!

Feeling Amazed

I can't believe how privileged I am! Tonight I got to hang out with some of the greatest young people that I know, I got to participate in some really passionate worship, and I got to share from my heart about how much God wants to connect with each of us. I feel such a sense of excitement right now and I am not even sure why, but I really think that God is at work in our church and I can't wait to see what He is up to! God is so amazing and it is a privilege to serve Him!