i’ve been reading through the book of Acts. there was some crazy stuff going on during that time!!
i snapped this photo at TWL during my mini-vaca
Filed under: Church, Faith | Tags: colorado, gayle haggard, new life, scandal, steven furtick, ted haggard
many of you remember the scandal Ted Haggard was involved with. this past weekend, Steven Furtick brought Ted and his wife, Gayle, in for an interview. what was life like then? what is life like now? (2 1/2 years later) how did Gayle muster the forgiveness to stay with Ted? all these questions and more were asked.
it is definitely worth the watch. they talk about forgiveness, the power of sin, and the even greater power of the gospel.
it’s great to see someone, who has previously fallen, come back and prove the power of forgiveness and redemption.
Filed under: Faith | Tags: benefits, Church, elevation, furtick, psalm, scripture, steven
steven furtick gave a message this past sunday on the benefits of the LORD.
How often do we overlook these? it was such a great reminder
psalm 103:1-4
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
psalm 119:135 – make your face shine on your servant and teach me your decrees (TNIV)
i find that I want the first part (God’s favor on my life), but I tend to ignore the second part (learning God’s ways). i wonder if the first part comes without the second part?
psalm 119:45 – i will walk about in freedom, for i have sought out your precepts (TNIV)
it seems that in order to walk in freedom (and one could argue, have God’s favor), i must be seeking God’s “precepts” … his ways, not mine.
Filed under: Blogs, Church, Faith | Tags: change, disciples, high school, jesus, march, matthew, ministry, red letters, school, sunday, velocity
this past weekend in velocity we our opening talk for “red letters.” i have the talk, and i was pretty excited about it. i talked out of matthew 9:9-13. jesus walks up to matthew, an outcast in that society, and asks him to follow. so crazy. i took it from two angles
the disciples: no doubt the ones already following jesus were a little confused as to why a “tax collector” was joining their bunch. i asked, “who in your life are you denying the life-changing love of jesus?” we mainly do that because of decisions those people have made…we think jesus wouldn’t want them following him.
matthew: we’ve all been here, i’m sure. i know i’ve felt sometimes that i’m not good enough to follow jesus. oh boy does jesus shatter that thinking. anyone can change. this is jesus we’re talking about…the same dude who rose from the dead! wow, the power in believing that is immense. who do you know that is “too far gone?” even when everyone thinks a person is “lost” … he is still worth being found in God’s eyes.
next week bill is tackling some red letters. stay tuned for a recap
Filed under: Blogs, Church, Faith, YouTube Videos | Tags: att, Church, crazy love, emerge, iPhone, red letters, rustproof, teenagers, tribes, velocity
this weekend was a bit busy. I spoke in all 3 of our Junior High services…which went really great. Bill Holbrook did wonderful leading volunteers so I wouldn’t have to worry about any of that.
my talk was on boundaries in dating. great subject for jh kids.
then sunday night came. this time bill spoke in velocity, which was a nice break for me. we wrapped up our “goin’ all the way” series with a talk on loneliness. bill hit it out of the park.
our next series is called ‘red letters.’ watch the promo video here.
another key event this weekend: i was given a free iPhone. a volunteer decided to bless me with his 4G 1st generation iPhone. i am now an AT&T customer.
i’m still reading crazy love and tribes
what i’m excited about: like having an iPhone isn’t enough?!? i’m excited to solidify our summer trips, as well as plan for our EMERGE weekend experience.
Filed under: Blogs, Church, Faith | Tags: choir, Church, england, grumpy, old, organist, pecking order, pew, sunday school, worship leader, youth worker, ysmarko
I saw this post on ysmarko’s blog…just had to share it.
NOTE: “C of E” is referring to the “Church of England.” Marko makes the case that this could very well be applied everywhere…I concur.
Filed under: Blogs, Church, Faith, General, YouTube Videos | Tags: northridge church, cwc, brad powell, change without compromise
for church leaders, senior pastors, youth pastors, volunteers…
anyone who wants to grow in ministry – check this out.
Filed under: Blogs, Church, Faith, YouTube Videos | Tags: velocity, northridge church, worship, lifechurch.tv, goin' all the way, love, sacrifice, videos
Sunday February 15, 2009 – Velocity Service || 6p
For a synopsis of week one, click here.
Series: Goin’ all the way
Talk: Love
Summary: John 15:13 and 1 John 3:16 lay it out there. [real] love is laying your life down for someone else. Jesus was the example. we are to follow. what does that look like for a high school student? putting ones own agenda aside for another person is certainly difficult, but it is what we are called to do…in every relationship, not just dating/marriage.
Bottom Line: Love is sacrifice
Creative Elements: we showed 2 videos. this one. and that one.
Song List: You’ll come, Lead me to the cross, Better is one day
Filed under: Blogs, Church, Faith | Tags: Church, crazy love, francis chan, goal, human3rror, jarret stevens, john saddington, rustproof, seth godin, tribes, weekend
friday was another relaxing day. had the opportunity to go to the gym after work…which is pretty rare. I settled in at my favorite coffee establishment and read “tribes.”
saturday started with me sleeping in. awesome. I really enjoyed the down time. went to the gym again (trying to reach my goal). then settled in at the aforementioned coffee place to edit some videos and put some work into my talk for Velocity.
sunday is sunday. I get up. workout. coffee shop. church. home. sleep. routine is good, reliable, steady. I like routine.
book i’m in the midst of: still need to finish Tribes. started Crazy Love, which I’m excited about. also still reading The Blessed Life.
on my to-do-list this week: create the summer trips packet. continue to dream up our local mission trip. this is the first year Velocity will do something local instead of international. with the economy the way it is, I thought it wise to stay cheap…this way families will have one less “stresser” in their life…and hopefully more students will be involved.
how I feel about this week: I am speaking in RustProof this upcoming weekend, so I am excited for the opporunity. too often I don’t realize the impact of speaking in front students, which in turn doesn’t give me the drive I need to sit down and prepare the best talk possible. workin’ on it.
blogs i’ve recently started following:
- Jarrett Stevens (North Point Community Church)
- Rick W. Smith (great blog. website coming soon)
- John Saddington (Creative Web Director @ North Point)
currently stressed about: the “scroll up” function on my apple mouse ball does not work.
