God at the Box Office

This Sunday we continue our sermon series that explores the four ways the full gospel message fulfills the greatest human longings. We find in secular art and literature these basic human longings. People long for: Redemption, Empowerment, Longevity, and Conclusion.

This week we are looking at longevity and the promise of Scripture that God will heal our bodies. Psalm 103 says that God forgives all our sins and heals all our diseases. If we have faith for sins to be forgiven (intangible miracle) can't we believe that God can heal our diseases (tangible miracle)? Did you know that when a person is saved through Jesus Christ that the promise is that God saves not only their soul, but eventually their body as well. To find out more don't miss this week.

Graduation Day

Wednesday was a big day for our family.

1. Ben and Gabe graduated from Rainbows into Royal Rangers! Each son earned 29 badges in rainbows and are Honor Rainbows. I am very proud of them. I am also very proud of their teacher Mrs. Ranell Dean. She is amazing with the kids!

2. Ben had his first loose tooth this week and Wednesday he pulled it out himself! It was so cool to have a visit from the Tooth Fairy last night. With inflation like it is, we have instructed the Tooth Fairy to leave one dollar instead of the .25 cents that my generation received.

3. Next week I am taking the boys to summer school. I get to drop them off for their first official day of school and school experience. I keep trying to picture them with their back packs on walking away from the truck, I am trying to prepare myself.

Being Stretched

A few weeks ago a good Christian said they had a word for me. They said that, "God was going to stretch me." The next day two new opportunities were given to me that have certainly stretched me. Several others have followed.

Pray for me and for my time management skills to grow. It seems that many of the ways I am being stretched are academic. I have a two new text books to digest for two of the classes I teach at the Missouri Baptist University site in Union, Missouri. I am also doing a book review for a leadership journal, which I may say more about some other time. Pray that I get over this cold and hay fever junk and stop needing 8-9 hours of sleep a night and get back to the regular 7 hour schedule that I usually keep when in good health.

Weekend Rewind

This weekend was a low attendance day, but we had two very amazing services! I am continuing to speak on the Full Gospel message. Sunday we talked about empowerment from the Holy Spirit to accomplish the mission that God has for us to complete until he returns. Several people were touched in powerful ways on Sunday as we prayed and allowed God to empower us with the Holy Spirit.

Friday and Saturday were full. I felt sick most of the weekend, but still managed to do a wedding, have friends over, and meet up with our Small Group. Monday I just needed rest! I got it. I read two chapters in the Eisenhower biography and have less than 100 pages left.

I Lost a Friend

I just found out that one week ago Norma Morris passed away. Norma was a resident at Cedar Crest Nursing Home where we do a monthly nursing home service. She was the coolest!

She often gave little gifts to my kids, like a banana, apple or box of raisins. I could tell what was happening. She was thinking about my kids days in advance and holding onto items from the cafeteria to give them. She did it because she was probably full of food and loved to give to people and this was how she could give. I don't know where, or how, she got them, but last month she gave each of the boys a ceramic cross. Ben was so excited about his cross that he made me put up a shelf in his room above his bunk bed for the cross to be near him at night.

What really made Norma special was her ability to write notes and letters of encouragement. She was extremely smart and articulate and wrote well. She had a monthly goal of writing 100 notes and cards every month. Some friends of Norma have stacks of notes that they have received over the years. I have fewer, one particularly that I will always keep. She finished the card with the most striking encouragement that I have ever received, "We are so lucky to have you in our universe."

The nursing home services will not be the same without my friend Norma Morris. We have been lucky to have Norma in our universe too.

Great Comments

As a Pastor there are times when a person says something that really amazes you and reminds you that God is working in the Church.

Last night three people in the church came early to pray for me and Laura because they heard that both of us were struggling with our voices and I had asked Laura to lead worship because mine hurt so bad. After praying for us Laura had tears in her eyes and said something like, "It has been four years since I attended a church where anyone in the church would stop to pray for me like that." That made me feel so privileged to pastor our church.

Then after church a person said, "Someone called me optimistic this week. Then, another person asked what had happened to me in the last month that I was so different. I told them I changed churches and I feel so close to God." Then they said something like, "I have always wanted people to say to me, 'You have something different that I want.'" I was so excited for this person! people are seeing the presence and effect of Jesus in that believer. I wish I had a tape recorder with me to record these kinds of moments. I always have a hard time remembering the exact wording of people's testimonies and the exact wording is always what amazes me. There are so many different people and so many ways to tell what God has done.

If I will faithfully pastor, there is no telling what God is going to do with this kind of church! I am so full of expectation today.

Weekend Rewind

Today was a low attendance day, but worship was really beautiful in the first service. I have been trying to be more sensitive to the congregation and the Holy Spirit even while I am playing the guitar and worshiping with the worship team. There were several quiet moments in worship where it was really great to allow the other insturments to play and I back off and then sometimes, just listen to the congregation sing.

I had a great time with the sermon this morning! I am very excited about the series, "God at the Box Office." Another AG church I know does a series by this title every year and I thought the idea was really powerful. They Biblically review several movies each year that have had particular inpact on our culture. We are doing something just a bit diferent with ours.

We are studying the full gospel message (Jesus saves, heals, baptizes in the Holy Spirit, and is coming soon). We are reviewing these truths creatively by observing the basic human needs and longings that these doctrines meet. Those basic human needs are evident in our culture through the artform of film. The baisc needs that we are considering and illustrating through movies are: redemption (a second chance), empowerment (a mission and ability to succeed), health (living every day to the fullest), and flying (the chance to fly from our everyday existance to a different world). It is amazing to think that the message of the New Testament fulfills the great longings and passion of the human spirit. We have an awesome message for our world.

Spontaneous Worship

I have been troubled lately.

20 years ago when I became a Christian worship in a Pentecostal or Charismatic church was different from that of other Christians. It was marked by different music, hands being lifted by worshipers often. Today that flavor of worship has been captured and enjoyed by all kinds of churches of all kinds of denominations. Somewhere in that time frame the catch word for this kind of worship became "contemporary worship."

I believe in contemporary worship. It is one of my core values. Worship needs to be stylistically relevant to people. It needs to evoke new feelings toward God. We should learn new songs so that we don't fall into a rut in our worship. Keeping worship contemporary helps the person not acquainted with the Church easily learn and enjoy the music of worship.

Here is the trouble, it has two parts. First a family from our church visited another church with relatives last week and they were amazed. They said, "Their service is just like ours!" But the church is not like ours in doctrine at all. Second, there is a trend in very large churches that have multiple services to keep the service to one hour or close to that so the next service can start. Worship is a set of very sharp, well played, contemporary songs, that must end at a certain time for the schedule's sake.

It seems to me that all kinds of churches offer contemporary worship. So what makes a Spirit Filled, Pentecostal, Charismatic worship service any better than those contemporary services?

Then it hit me!!!

I remember reading in my History and Doctrine class in Bible College about the worship of the early days of revival in the Pentecostal movement and the Great Awakening. What marked the worship was not that the music was contemporary (though in most cases it was considered contemporary at the time). The worship was spontaneous.

In thinking more and more about what the Lord would want from us in worship I think that the Lord is not so concerned about how old a song is, but about us following his direction at a moments notice in worship. Yes, I will be contemporary, it is still a core value. But, I want our worship to be marked by spontaneity because we are allowing the Holy Spirit to direct or even re-direct us in our worship times. We believe in preparation and that prayerfully! I think that we have to be very careful when coming up with a new term to describe our worship that we don't loose the real factor that makes Pentecostal worship different, that is spontaneity!

Weekend Rewind

We had an amazing weekend as a family. We went to the farm and had a great time together. I came back a little tired still. I think I have a bit of a cold and it is wearing me out.

Sunday was Mother's Day and I felt like the sermon was really flat. But I think that God spoke some words of wisdom to some mothers, and a word of hope to others that, "God settles the barren woman as a happy mother in her home." Psalm 113.

I want to thank the worship team. Worship has been very good for the last several weeks. I also want to than those who have traveled to new haven in the last few weeks for worship ministry. Let's keep our prayers and efforts up for the names of those we are trying to reach who are far from God. If you have a name to add to the wall do so quickly.

Donut Shop

Friday is donut shop day. Every Friday we visit Schulte's Bakery for a great morning snack. We have made several new friends at the Schulte's snack bar. Every family needs to have family traditions that help hold the family together. This is one for us.

After donut time we are traveling to Jefferson City to visit some great friends and then staying at my parents farm to take Ben turkey hunting on Saturday. He is absolutely positive that we are going to get a turkey. I hope his faith stays certain and sure, we will get a turkey!

Godly Sorrow

Tuesday our son Gabe (5 yrs.) asked a great question. He asked my wife, his mother, Stephanie, "Mom, why can't I ask Jesus to forgive all of my sins instead of remembering them all one at a time?"

Here is the beauty of the question. First, when we pray together at bed time we don't rehearse all our individual sins, we just ask for forgiveness and that God will help us be better people. That means that Gabe has some how, some where, gained the ability to understand the responsibility for individual sins. Second, the question tells me that Gabe has been thinking about his sins and how God forgives them.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 7:10, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow bring death." (NIV). I don't want my kids to be sorrowful and unhappy in life. But there is a need in all of us to be sorrowful when we have made errors. Gabe's question is the beginning of what I hope is a greater understanding of God's salvation and forgiveness through Jesus.

New Title Bar

I am working on a new title bar idea. Until I get it figured out I will leave it simple.

Weekend Rewind

Our first Missions Weekend was really great! Here are a few notes: We gave the biggest one-time missions offering of the last five years ($801.00). All three missionaries shared with the adults. Richie and his wife did a huge job of also sharing with Jungle Jam and Children's Church. David Hewkin sang and spoke at all the Small Groups. What was really amazing was the amount of fun that it seemed the missionaries had with our church. I was very proud of our church and the love for missions that is continually growing in us!

Sabbath

The word on my mind today is sabbath! This last week I was at District Council, came back early for a funeral, made two hospital visits in St. Louis, and then hosted our first Missions Weekend Friday through Sunday evening. Monday I started at 7:00 a.m. and destroyed our kitchen, then spent the rest of the day putting it back together so that new counters could be installed today. I worked till midnight. So, today I was so tired and hungry that I was a bit out of my mind! I literally could not think straight. I was so hungry at 10:00 this morning that I took lunch at 10:25.

This is why God tells us to take a day to rest. Research shows us that without proper amounts of rest we are unable to remember what we have done recently. Ever feel like life is a blur? Your brain can't even process everything. You need rest.