Archive for February, 2011
Yesterday’s Videos…WOW! February 7, 2011
For the past two weeks in our “Make War” series we’ve been dealing with the subject, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” (Here is a link to the first message I did on the subject).
Yesterday we dove into this question a lot more by sharing this story by Zac and Mandy Smith…(you may have seen the first part of this video…but unless you were at NewSpring Church yesterday you haven’t seen the second part…WOW!)
We also were able to share Eric, June, Faith and Matthew’s story…UNBELIEVABLE! (I met Eric over Thanksgiving while I was in Thomasville, GA visiting my in-laws and found out about his AMAZING journey from tragedy to triumph!)
It was amazing to see/hear about hundreds of people responding to Jesus during the invitation time yesterday…Jesus definitely used both of these tragedies to draw people to Himself. Please continue to pray for the Smith family as well as Eric, Faith and Matthew as they continue to journey through some pretty tough times and continually learn to depend on Christ’s strength rather than their own.
There is SO MUCH POWER when it comes to people’s personal stories. You can find all the stories you see in our services and others we produce just for our NewSpring Stories web site. New stories are also posted to our Facebook page as they are released.
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THIS WEEKEND! February 3, 2011
To say that we are excited about this weekend at NewSpring Church would be quite an understatement. I have said it on this blog and I said it this past weekend…but let me say it agan…THIS WEEKEND will be one of the top five weekends we’ve EVER had in the history of NewSpring Church…EVER!
Last weekend we did part one of, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” AND…the stories that continue to pour in are simply amazing in regards to people letting go of bitterness and anger that they’ve held in for years. (Remember, in Christ we can walk from tragedy to triumph! See John 16:33)
THIS WEEKEND we are taking that question to the next level as we take a look at some real life examples of people who have experienced unbelievable tragedy in their lives…but with the help of Christ are walking in triumph through it. There is SO MUCH POWER when it comes to people’s personal stories…and so as your pastor I am telling you that you need to do everything possible to be at church this weekend…AND you also need to do whatever possible to BRING SOMEONE with you (especially if they are struggling with bitterness/anger at God!)
Anderson campus…remember that THIS WEEKEND ONLY we are moving our Sunday night services to Saturday night…the times are the same, 4 and 6pm.
Columbia campus…remember that THIS WEEKEND ONLY we are moving the Sunday night service to Saturday night…same time, 6pm.
We are making these adjustments for one weekend only because there is this little event called the Super Bowl that a few people are slightly interested in! :-) (AND…let me know if your home group Super Bowl Party is going to have good food…I am more than willing to crash it!) :-)
All other campuses will have the normal service times.
AND…normal service times will resume the next weekend (the 13th) and we answer the question, “What is the one thing that is holding me back from experiencing an unbelievable life and relationship with God?”
I’m so excited in regards to what God is doing in our church right now…which leads me to ask each of you one more thing…
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE spend some time between now and Saturday praying for this weekend and asking God to show up in an undeniable way and IMPACTS lives as only He can do. Seriously NewSpring Church…let’s BEG GOD to move this weekend like never before. I am not just thinking this is going to be an amazing weekend…I am BELIEVING IT and I know that thousands of you are going to BEG GOD and BELIEVE with me!!!
Can’t wait…see you THIS weekend.
What If…Part Two February 3, 2011
Last Thursday I wrote this post that hopefully got us thinking…let’s continue that line of thought with this…
What if there was a cancer center that had the cure for cancer? And…you discovered that you had the disease? And….someone told you about the cancer center…so you went there, received treatment and were cured!!!
How would you respond?
- Would you simply be content with going back to that cancer center once a week (or month, whenever you happened to find the time) and sing some songs about the healing you received?
- Would you want to dive into the complexities of the ingredients that were used in your cure and try your best to form an opinion and debate with others who had been healed of that disease?
- Would you be ok with after you were cured that NO ONE ELSE was ever cured at “your cancer curing center” because you simply wanted to become a bunch of former cancer patients who were obsessed with your own healing, forgetting what it was like to actually have the disease and forgetting those outside the walls that still desperately needed to be cured?
- Would you pass by hundreds and thousands of cancer patients in your lifetime, looking down on them and feeling superior to them because you don’t have cancer anymore but they do?
- Would you find other cancer centers that are actually still being used to cure people and try your best to attack and discredit those cancer centers?
No one with a compassionate bone in their body would even THINK of doing the scenarios listed above if they had cancer, been healed and knew others who needed that same healing…and if people DID respond like the scenarios above we would call them cruel, rude, inconsiderate and ungoldy…
Yet in church would we call them normal!
Reality is that if you are in Christ then you were cured of something WAY worse than cancer!!! AND there are BILLIONS on this planet that need that same cure…let’s go get them!!!
For some reason when a large hospital is built people applaud…but when a large church is built people get mad. I am simply asking…which one does more good when it comes to the perspective of eternity?
We’ve got so many more people to reach NewSpring…so many more than need Christ…and we will NOT slow down or shut up until we’ve reached them ALL!!!
So…who are you bringing with you THIS Sunday! (Remember…we are moving our Sunday night services in Anderson at 4 & 6 and in Columbia at 6 to Saturday night for THIS WEEKEND ONLY!) AND…I can promise you that this Sunday will be one of the top five services that we’ve EVER had at NewSpring Church as we continue last weeks question, “Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People!”
I’m so thankful for a church that is willing to do WHATEVER it takes to reach people far from God! You guys are awesome/amazing! See you Sunday!
My “Book” Of Theology February 2, 2011
Whew! Been looking at a lot of theological papers and books lately…so, just for fun I decided to write my own theological postion paper right here on my blog, here goes…
GOD – He’s awesome!
JESUS – See above…same person
HOLY SPIRIT – See above…same person
SALVATION – It’s awesome, includes the package deal off all three above, which are really one…but they are three…but one…uh…
MANKIND – We suck (translation, we’re not awesome!)
END TIMES – It’s going to be awesome (and people who try to predict it are stupid!)
CREATION – It was awesome, then mankind, who sucks, messed it up and have been doing so ever since. BUT…one day God is going to make it awesome again!
SIN – People think it’s awesome, but it sucks…but God saves us from it, which is awesome!
THE BIBLE – It is a story about a God who is awesome!
There you go…probably will not be quoted in a lot of theological articles…but it works for me! :-)
A Letter From Pastor P To NewSpring Church February 1, 2011
Howdy NewSpring…eight things I wanted to share today as we continue to CELEBRATE what God did this past weekend and ANTICIPATE all He is going to do this weekend.
#1 – Every NewSpring campus celebrated baptism this past Sunday and together our church saw 214 people say, “Jesus Christ is my Lord” and then publicly identify with Him through baptism. (That’s 413 in the past two weeks!) It is my prayer that seeing people receive Christ and follow through in baptism never gets old…I’m still pumped up about it.
#2 – The stories of what God did at each campus in regards to us tackling the question “why do bad things happen to good people” have been amazing. It was so awesome to see so many people stand to be prayed for. Remember…IN CHRIST we don’t have to be identified by tragedy…but rather we can walk in triumph!!!
#3 – This coming weekend we will dive a little deeper into the question in regards to why bad things happen to good people by getting to see some real life stories of people who have experienced overwhelming tragedy and are learning to walk with Christ in triumph over their situation…YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS CHURCH THIS WEEKEND…and BRING SOMEBODY!
#4 – And…Anderson AND Columbia campuses please remember that THIS WEEKEND ONLY we are moving our Sunday evening services to Saturday evening. So…Anderson services are 4:00 and 6:00 on Saturday and then 9:15 and 11:15 on Sunday…no Sunday night services this weekend. Columbia services are Saturday evening at 6:00 and then Sunday at 9:15 and 11:15. (The same services times will be offered online as are offered for the Anderson campus.)
#5 – For those who are walking in/through tragedy…remember what God’s Word says in Isaiah 43:1-3!
#6 – I honestly think this is one of my favorite series we’ve ever done as a church. So far we’ve seen…
- I’m either an enemy of God (indifferent or hostile) or a child of God.
- As a child of God I am completely forgiven, chosen/valuable and unconditionally loved.
- As a child of God I am gifted by Him through His Spirit for His glory…and I will live an abundant life as soon as I stop playing with the paper and the box and actually embrace the gift (or gifts) He has given me.
- And…this past weekend…as a child of God I can walk in triumph instead of being identified by tragedy.
#7 – Thank you so much for everyone who let me know last week that they are praying for Lucretia…that means so much to us. She is getting a little better everyday…please keep on praying for her as I HATE seeing my wife in a sick condition!
#8 – I LOVE MY CHURCH!!!