Archive for November, 2011
7 Things That Worship Is… November 30, 2011
#1 – Repentance - Where there is no repentance there may be an emotional experience, but it’s not worship! Worship does not become worship until it IMPACTS the WAY WE LIVE!
#2 – Intellectual – We’re called to worship the Lord with our minds by renewing it and fixing it on Him. (Colossians 3:1-2)
#3 – Emotional- Worship is overwhelming when we realize how deeply we were entrenched in sin, how helpless we were and how incredible it is that Jesus would rescue us. (The reality of Romans 5:8 BLOWS ME AWAY!)
#4 – Intentional- No one accidentally follows Christ…if we are going to worship Him, it will be done purposefully!
#5 – Relational – Worship impacts every relationship we have, it is impossible to be a fully devoted worshipper of Christ and be a jerk to your wife or try as often as possible to take advantage of the opposite sex.
#6 – Financial – Until following Christ has impacted our finances in a sacrificial way we are not followers of Christ. Would you like to see the primary object of your worship…look at your checkbook!
#7 – Unconditional – (and NOT situational!) Worship is consistent, 24/7, not just when I feel good or God is giving me all that I want. If we worship only when things are good, we do not worship God…we worship a genie!
A Letter From Pastor P To NewSpring Church November 29, 2011
Howdy NewSpring Church, EIGHT things I want to share today…
#1 – “The Life of Job – A Story Of Hope” has been my favorite series we’ve ever done here at NewSpring. It’s so awesome that a story written thousands of years ago can impact us today in such profound ways. This past Sunday we saw hundreds of people commit to take their next step in their walk with Christ as many prayed to receive Him, some signed up for baptism, others signed up for an ownership class, others were moved by God to go on a foreign mission trip and many other decisions were made as well. The service was amazing…major props to our campus pastors for sharing very specific vision as to how each campus will impact (not isolate from) the community they are in. AND…major props to our video production team for their excellent work on the foreign mission footage…hands down one of the most moving things I’ve ever seen.
#2 – Don’t forget the main point from this Sunday was – “IT’S NOT ABOUT ME!” (Jesus said something about that in Matthew 22:36-40) WOW…what if we approached life, where we work, our marriage, parenting, our friendships, the way we handle our finances and so on with that attitude (it’s not about me!) THAT COULD CHANGE THE WORLD!
#3 – As I said Sunday, I really do believe that every single follower of Christ should go on a foreign mission trip at least one time in their lives!!! Trust me, it will forever impact the way you view life…and I know from personal experience that Jesus unlocked some things in my life that I know I would have never discovered about Him, the church, the world and people that I would have never seen if I had been more obsessed with my comfort rather than His commands! (See Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8)
#4 – This coming Sunday we will be concluding the Job series with one of the most amazing things that blew me away personally when I studied this book. So far, we’ve seen seven things that Job understood that led to him living a life that was blessed more in the second half than the first (Job 42:12 )…and #8 has the potential to absolutely change your outlook on life, the way you see and treat people, and also it can and will absolutely change this entire state. I can’t wait!!
#5 – The next series we are going to be diving into is entitled “PARTY” and it will run through January 1st!!! The way I read the Scriptures…heaven is NOT going to be boring but rather will be an eternal celebration! YET…in spite of the fact that Jesus promises those who follow Him abundant life in John 10:10 why do so many IN THE CHURCH never seem to feel that at their deepest level…we will answer that on Sunday, December 11th with THE MOST UNFORGETTABLE LORD’S SUPPER SERVICE we’ve ever had at our church…can’t wait!
#6 – For those who have been asking/praying about the book I am writing, I’ve got one chapter left and then the entire rough draft is COMPLETE! :-) After that we begin the editing process, which I am REALLY looking forward to! I have an excellent editor who has a passion to make sure this is a great book…and I am looking forward to learning more and more from her in regards to how to be a better writer. I will keep you posted as this project progresses along.
#7 – For those still looking for a Christmas gift idea…there are still spots available for the trip to Israel this spring…it’s going to be amazing. Here is where you can get more info.
Sunday November 25, 2011
Ok NewSpring Church, like I said this past Sunday…DON’T MISS THIS WEEKEND!
We’ve had an amazing journey in “The Life of Job – A Story of Hope” over the past several weeks, here’s a quick review…the Bible says in Job 42:12 that the Lord blessed the 2nd half of Job’s life more than the first…confession…I WANT THAT for me and for you as well. I want for our lives to be blessed more from this point forward than they’ve EVER been…and so we’ve been digging into Job to find out what some of the things that happened to him were and what we can learn…so far we’ve seen the ways to be blessed are…
- #1 – Do Not Give Up On The God Who Has Never Given Up On You! (He’s still God and He’s still good…and if you feel overwhelmed it’s because you may still be in chapter two…but chapter 42 is on the way!)
- #2 – To Stop Making Excuses And Start Making A Difference! (Job did not play the victim card but rather stepped into the VICTORY that God provided for Him! We were all designed by God ON PURPOSE, WITH A PURPOSE & FOR A PURPOSE!)
- #3 – To Understand That I Have Stewardship, God Has Ownership! (This was the message on money…Jesus said that money is the #1 competitor for our hearts in Matthew 6:24, and God’s blessings on Job’s life did include financial blessings!)
- #4 – To Seek And Surrender To The Voice of God. (In this message we went through the four primary ways that God speaks and covered the fact that He wants us to hear His voice way more than we actually want to hear it at times.)
- #5 – To Push Past The Performance Trap. (We need to be Christ followers, not rule followers…in this message we talked about the dangers of legalism and how to break free from a prison of performance.)
Which brings us to the fact that we have two more weeks.
THIS SUNDAY we’re going to be diving into one of the main ideas that we must embrace if we want to be blessed beyond anything we could ever imagine and live a life of freedom that some people think just isn’t possible. Trust me…be here (and you might want to bring a Kleenex!)
And NEXT SUNDAY we’re going to see what the result of God working in Job’s life was…he had several things in his life that changed, but the one main change that God did in his life is something that He wants to do in all of our lives…and when it happens it will absolutely BLOW YOUR MIND in regards to what He does in and through you!
I love my church…I can’t wait to see you guys Sunday…hope you had a GREAT Thanksgiving!
10 Reasons I Will Not Be Participating In Shopping On Black Friday November 24, 2011
#1 – Because sleeping is better than shopping!
#2 – Because sleeping is better than shopping!
#3 – Because sleeping is better than shopping!
#4 – Because sleeping is better than shopping!
#5 – Because sleeping is better than shopping!
#6 – Because sleeping is better than shopping!
#7 – Because sleeping is better than shopping!
#8 – Because sleeping is better than shopping!
#9 – Because sleeping is better than shopping!
#10 – Because sleeping is better than shopping!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYBODY!
My Wife Had A Bad Experience At Chick-Fil-A! November 23, 2011
I love Chick-Fil-A! (AND love Tim Hawkins song about it…you should watch it here!)
We eat there at least two or three times a week (not kidding…we’ve actually pushed that number up to 6-7 a few times.)
The food is ALWAYS good, they get the order right nearly every time and their customer service is second to none. It is always clean and no matter how long the line seems to be people are always served as quickly and efficiently as possible.
So, imagine my surprise when my wife came home the other day and, as we were catching each other up on the things that had taken place while we had been apart all morning and afternoon she told me about a bad experience she had at Chick-Fil-A.
I was immediately frustrated! (Any husband would be!) AND…before I knew it I had literally told myself in my mind, “Well, if that’s the way things are going to be then I guess we just won’t be going to Chick-Fil-A anymore, they’ve lost my business.”
TIME OUT!!! How stupid was THAT thought? Seriously, let’s review…
- #1 – They ALWAYS deliver great food!
- #2 – They ALWAYS have friendly people!
- #3 – They ALWAYS have a clean environment!
- #4 – What my wife had experienced was not in line with what normally happens.
(AND…I want to be completely fair to Lucretia, she was NOT saying she would not go back, nor was she angry…she was just telling me about her day and I am the one who became irrational!) :-)
I lost my mind! I was literally going to allow one bad experience with one employee ruin a reputation of excellence that had been consistent for years! (AND…no one knows what was going on in that employees life…she could have had one of the worst days of her life and was trying her best to just hold it together until she could clock out!)
Before you agree with me too quickly…I think there are people who have done the same thing to the church!
It has become quite popular, even in some “Christian” circles, to bash the church for all of the dumb things that she has done.
I have met people since being in ministry for over 20 years that have the same attitude with the church that I almost had with Chick-Fil-A! They will attend, serve, be devoted to a local church for months or even years…and then, all of a sudden…
- Someone didn’t call them when they were out for two weeks.
- Someone said something hurtful to or about them.
- They didn’t like what the preacher said.
- They didn’t like what the youth group was doing.
I could go on and on…but you get the point. There are times when people will allow one thing in the church to trump the decades of ministry and impact that have taken place through that body of believers, and that’s a bit insane.
- Yes, if you stay in a church long enough I promise you that you will see hypocrisy.
- Someone will say something to you or about you that will hurt you.
- Decisions will be made that you do not like.
- There are going to be sermons that make you mad.
When that happens the enemy is going to try his best to convince you to just walk away…because he knows that the first step away from God is usually getting people to step away from the people of God.
Yes, the church, EVERY church, has made some unwise decisions and, in the process have hurt or disappointed people along the way…but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater…
- She’s STILL being built by Jesus–that makes her important!
- She’s STILL reaching out to the broken, the forgotten and the poor.
- She’s STILL making a difference that’s going to be seen for eternity.
- She’s STILL GOD’S PLAN for reaching the world.
- She’s STILL necessary for believers! (If church is not necessary then why did Jesus say He would build it, died for it, will one day redeem it and spends so much time in the NT talking to it and about it?”
No, the church is NOT perfect…but neither are you (or me!) So, when we’re tempted to walk away because of the one thing that seems to hurt us or trip us up we should simply ask, “is this consistant with this churches character?”
Stay in a church long enough and you will have a bad experience…but let that push you closer to Jesus as you recognize that HE uses imperfect people in His plan, which means sometimes they get it wrong, and then beg the Lord to teach both them and yourself how to best deal with the situation…because, she’s STILL the church and STILL His bride.
Now…anyone want to go to Chick-Fil-A with me? :-)
A Letter From Pastor P To NewSpring Church November 22, 2011
Howdy NewSpring Church, FIVE things I want to share with you on Turkey Day week…
#1 – We saw over 60 people come to Christ on Sunday, it is absolutely blowing my mind what Jesus is doing in and through our church in this Job series. Honestly, we had no idea what to expect when preparing for this series…it didn’t have a “fancy title,” it didn’t have any “snap, crackle and pop” (and I’m NOT against any of that)…it was just the thing that I really felt the Lord pressing into me after reading the book of Job in my personal time with God. So…we did it, knowing that it is our responsibility to do what God says and that if we do He will handle the details. And, like I said…it’s amazing what HE is doing here at NewSpring Church…we’ve seen hundreds of salvations, people beginning to read their Bible’s, people starting to put God first in their finances and so much more. AND…we’ve got two more weeks to go. AND…BIG SURPRISE…they’re my two favorite weeks in the series!!!
#2 – The points we covered Sunday (in a nutshell) are:
- God loves us based on our POSITION as His children, not on our PERFORMANCE! (I wrote an article about this here if you want to read more about how much God loves us!)
- You have never disappointed God…it’s amazing, He knew every stupid, foolish, sinful and self centered decision you were ever going to make when He saved you…and He saved you anyway! (We often forget that God not only paid for our past sins…but our future sins as well!)
- There are rule followers who aren’t necessarily Christ followers. His promise is that if we will follow Him (one step at a time) that we will become more like Him because HE will make us into who we need to be. (See Matthew 4:18-20) It’s not about what we’re doing but rather about who we’re becoming!
- Just because we are not aware of His presence does not mean that He is not with us, even in our hardest times He says He is there (see Isaiah 43:1-3).
- Legalism and religion says, “God loves you if…”, Christianity says, “God loves you – PERIOD!”
#3 – This coming Sunday we are going to be looking at the ONE BIG IDEA that can absolutely set a person up for a life of freedom that will absolutely blow their minds…and it happens to be one of the most counter-cultural things we’ve ever seen!
#4 – Confession…as far as Christmas music, nothing touches the Mariah Carey Christmas album!!! DON’T JUDGE ME! :-)
#5 – This coming Sunday is going to be the beginning of the distribution for our FREE tickets for our Christmas services. Dates and times will be announced and we’re asking everyone to pray BIG prayers for God to do something amazing at our services…and make BIG invites to people who the Lord specifically puts on your heart to invite to these services. Folks, I’m telling you that this years Christmas services are going to be unlike anything we’ve ever attempted at NewSpring Church. And for those who read something like this and tend to get discouraged because you’ve invited “that person” so many times…don’t give up, God didn’t give up on you!!! Remember, God is patient with us (II Peter 3:9) so go ahead and beg Jesus to begin to open doors so that you can bring them to church!
I’m So Tired Of This… November 21, 2011
OK, OK, I know you’re probably tired of me talking about Reawaken by now; in fact, you’ve probably said, “GOOD GOSH, I wish they would have the event already so that he would write about something else…I’M SO TIRED OF THIS.”
Guess what…I’m tired to…
- Tired of pastors dropping out of ministry like flies when there are more people on the planet that need to be reached than there ever has been!
- Tired of only 10% of people entering into ministry actually retiring from ministry.
- Tired of seeing pastors struggle with depression and anxiety but are too afraid to vocalize what they are dealing with.
- Tired of seeing pastors believe “if I just do more and work harder then I will break out of this darkness that I’m in.”
- Tired of seeing pastors marriages get blown apart because he does not know how to manage his time.
- Tired of seeing pastors hurt and feel alone and somehow think they are unspiritual for doing so.
The reality today in church world is that pastors and leaders often receive a lot of attention…they do not receive a lot of care, and there is a trail of destroyed lives and ministries to prove that point…
IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THIS WAY!!
I don’t think this is what Jesus had in mind when He called us into ministry…and yet for three years I found myself in the middle of pain, anxiety, depression and uncertainty. (That is where this list came from, 10 Signs You Might Be Close To Spiritual Burnout!)
That is why we have put this event together entitled Reawaken! Dr. John Walker (who is an ordained minister and a licensed psychologist) and I will be diving into what God’s Word says about not only doing ministry right but also HOW TO FINISH WELL!!!
We put this event together a few months ago, the only promotion we’ve really done is through this blog, some emails and twitter…and we have over 400 people that will be attending.
Here’s why I’m writing about it today (Monday, November 21) – because tomorrow is the DEADLINE TO REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT!
It is my prayer that if you have been wrestling with whether or not to come to this thing you just go ahead and register now…and…like I’ve said earlier PLEASE BRING YOUR SPOUSE!!! Trust me, it will blow your mind what this thing will not only do for you ministry but your marriage as well.
Let’s finish well! I want that…I believe God wants that for you…and I believe that you want that!!! On this day we will dive into HOW…and I am praying it is a day of refreshing, repentance and renewal like we’ve never seen before!!!