Pastor With Coffee

Feeling Pumped by God's Word!

2012-01-24T08:58:00.003-06:00

This morning I am studying for my future sermon series out of the book of Matthew. I am so blown away by the detail and organization of God's word! I can't wait to preach the next three sermon series that are coming from Matthew. This will be great, because God's word is great!

Day Off Blessings

2012-01-17T08:37:00.004-06:00

The last two weeks were very busy and I missed my days off. Though I werestled with a sinus infection and flu, there was no time to take off. So, with the kids out of school, I finished the calls and visits that I needed to make on Monday by 11:00 a.m. and took the family hiking. Just getting out of town and outdoors was spiritual renewal! We found a great bluff to climb that overlooks the Missouri River bottom. We hiked just over two miles. When we got home i started the grill. No phone, no texting, no social media, just God and family.

Thursday was a snow day, Monday was a short sleve hiking day, last night was a thunder storm with hail, today it is freezing. Only in Missouri.

26 Degree Graveside

2012-01-12T16:06:00.002-06:00

Today I did a graveside service at Jefferson Barracks for a vetran. It needed to be very short because it was so cold and snowy. I started with a Scripture of comfort about salvation, shared this message, then closed in prayer. I think that the Lord gave me a message for the day. Here it is.

Today we stand in a hall of warriors. There are many stories of bravery behind most of these stones that will never be told to human ears.

Standing in this hall of warriors I bring you a thought from the Scriptures.

2 Samuel 23:20-23
20 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits. He struck down two of Moab’s best men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion.

Today we stand like Benaiah in a hall of heroes.
We face the pit of the grave
We face the lion of loss.
We face them in snowy circumstances.

Who was the help of Benaiah, the great warrior? It was his God, who is also my God, Jehovah who sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. In this time of sudden loss, I encourage you to turn to him. He is the God who strengthens the hands and hearts of warriors.

"I Will Rebuke the Devourer"

2012-01-10T11:21:00.003-06:00

"I Will Rebuke the Devourer..." is the promise of Malachi 3:11 for those who tithe. The NIV says he, "...will prevent pests..." but either way it refers to God's protection of your field and your work.

My work is being a pastor. My field is the congregation. As a faithful tither I am challenged today to trust God to prevent pests in my field and keep my harvest of souls healthy in their relationship with Jesus Christ. I am trusting God to defend the church I lead from the pests and devourers of gossip, bad doctrine, sickness, discord and other pests that keep the family of God from health and an abundant harvest of souls who love Jesus. Our children, our teens, our college students and our new believers are the developing harvest in my field. The mature saints, Elders, Staff, and Small Group leaders are the workers in the field helping to raise up that harvest.

Stand on the promise for a tither. He said he will do it!

A Neat Story

2012-01-10T11:13:00.002-06:00

Did you know that Colonel Sanders of KFC was Christian? Here is a cool story with some encouraging conclusions from his story. This was sent to me from one of our church members.

Daniel Students

2012-01-05T08:43:00.002-06:00

I want some Daniel students in our church. This week I am reading the book of Daniel in my devotions. This is how we are introduced to Daniel.

"...bring in some Israelites...young men without physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve..." Daniel 1:3-4

We are out to reach every student we can with the gospel of Jesus. Then, we must equip them to become the most excellent people that they can possibly be. This week I am focused on making our student ministries to youth and children more equipped to produce Daniel students.

My challenge to you is that you help Pastor John, Dylan, and me fight this fight. Fight for the youth ministry at our church. Push it to be excellent. Join in the work of making it excellent. I want students ministries to be fun, but fun is not the mark of success in ministry. It is only a very basic starting point. Building people who are excellent in Christian character, knowledge of God, and seriously striving to build their talents for service are the marks of excellence. We may not be perfect, but we can be excellent! We have young men and women with the raw materials to be Daniel students. Now we need to fight for their potential to be excellent.

New Year's Day

2011-12-29T08:30:00.003-06:00

I have a special message planned for New Year's Day, 2012. I know that many people may not be at church on Sunday because Saturday is traditionally a late night. But there are some people who have made up their minds not to make Sunday church optional and for the committed and faithful I have a message. I am excited about this Sunday!

By the way, there will not be coffee ministry this Sunday due to some of our food supply vendors being closed for the holiday.

Christmas by John

2011-12-22T15:24:00.002-06:00

This week I have been struck by the Christmas story in the gospel of John. Mark only mentions a little of John the Baptist ministry. Matthew gives a genealogy back to Abraham to introduce Jesus. Luke gives a genealogy back to Adam and a full description of John the Baptists birth. John however, goes even further back!

For a lot of people, the idea of Jesus being born as a baby means the same as it does for us at our birth. At conception we began to exist and at birth we emerged onto the scene of this world. But for Jesus, his conception by the Holy Spirit and his birth that followed, this was not his beginning. John says that the Son of God was present at the creation of the world and that the world was not created without his involvement!

Jesus existed long before the creation of the heavens and the earth. Jesus was not created by the Father or the Holy Spirit. The Son of God was not created in Mary's womb, but he has existed eternally. The Bible even says that the decision to have the Son of God enter the creation and die for the sins of mankind was made before the creation of the earth.

When we think about the Christmas story (the nativity or advent) in John, we are reminded of how great and powerful a treasure was encased in that tiny helpless baby in Bethlehem's manger. The eternal, all powerful, ever living, Son of God, set aside his glory and became one of us, his creation, to save us.

Christmas Celebrations!

2011-12-21T09:52:00.001-06:00

We will be celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve starting at 5:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve. It will be a short service for the whole family.

On Christmas Day we have a special treat! An opportunity to worship in our Sunday services on Christmas day. We will have regular service times at 8:30 and 10:15. I will also be striving to keep the services short so that people can get to family gatherings on Christmas Day.

Short Busy Week

2011-12-20T10:38:00.002-06:00

This week is going to be very short and busy. I took a personal day Monday to be with my brother Steve and his wife Mindy. Today I am taking my wife to an appointment in St. Louis that may require me to drive home so I have to take more time off to take good care of her.

The busy side of work is that our church secretary is off recovering from an outpatient procedure and Steph, the Pastor's Secretary may be out the rest of Tuesday. Pastor John is working on the Christmas Food baskets. I am working on the bulletin, and the new church management software that we started last week. I also need to make several trips to some stores. Our answering machine died last week, and we are out of church supplies in several areas. Usually we have other staff that make these purchases.

It will be a week of running!

Love from God

2011-12-01T09:00:00.003-06:00

It is now 9:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. As I drove into work at 7:45 today, I was thinking about how much God loves each individual person. No matter how much you struggle with kowing God and how much you wrestle with temptation, God loves you!

Often people fall into the trap of feeling worthless. It can come from the words of people who tear us down. It can come from our own judgement of ourselves. We may also feel wothless when the devil discourages us by pointing out all our failures. When you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God loves you, you gain confidence, security, and a feeling of worth that can not be taken away from you.

Today my desire is that you know, not just have a feeling, but really know, that God loves you!

Christmas Eve Service

2011-11-29T16:03:00.002-06:00

Today I am announcing our Christmas Eve Service. The celebration starts at 5:30 p.m. at church. The service will not be long, we want you to be able to enjoy time with family as well as celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. As we put together more details I will post them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T08:50:00.000-06:00

I love Thanksgiving. I love that it may be snowing, or it may be warm enough for football in the yard. I love that it is a holiday that falls in hunting season! Mostly, I love how it prepares us for Christmas.

Imagine if the two holidays were switched. What if we went through all the negative materialistic elements of modern Christmas celebrations and then did Thanksgiving? I think Thanksgiving would be completely spoiled! I think there is a real blessing that Thanksgiving is before Christmas.
I think it is great that about four weeks before Christmas and at least one day before the Christmas shopping insanity of our culture begins, we stop to give thanks. Thanking God, not for all the gifts and parties and food, but for the things that God has given us throughout the year.

Let's be careful not to let Christmas overpower Thanksgiving. The big box stores are all in Christmas mode and have forgotten Thanksgiving. They go straight from the ghouls, ghosts, and goblins of Halloween, to Santa and Elves. They can do without Christ in Christmas and they do without Thanksgiving completely. Don't miss Thanksgiving and don't forget to give God and special people in your life thanks. I want to be different, so I say with excitement and hope, "Happy Thanksgiving!"

Who's On First

2011-11-23T08:53:00.002-06:00

Sunday the message was about stress and worry, mostly about stress. I believe that the antidote to stress can be summed up with one prescription. Seek FIRST his kingdom and his righteousness (Matt. 6:33 emphasis mine).

When you are stressed out on the interstate in gridlock traffic, are you seeking him, or allowing yourself to be stressed? When you think about your house and your bills, are you seeking him and thanking him for provision, or are you worried about what you don't have?

When I strive, covet, and worry about the stuff of my life, it takes over my thinking, meditation and prayer time. When those things use up my prayer time, I am wasting time that could be spent seeking God through Jesus Christ! When those things take up my day, I am wasting time that could be spent working for God and my own progress, witnessing to a friend, or simply enjoying God's presence in my daily routine.

If you are stressed, my question to you is, "What are you seeking most in life?" Test yourself on this! Don't just give yourself a Sunday morning answer and a pat on the back! Look over your schedule. Did you spend more time on Facebook or shopping this week than you did seeking the Lord? Are you using up your entire day with work, entertainment and social stuff and running out of time for God?

Maybe we are so stressed today because we are running after the wrong things first.

The Glory of the Lord

2011-11-22T16:55:00.002-06:00

In the first service Sunday, the presence of God's Holy Spirit was amazing. It has been two days and I still keep thinking about it. Some people think that if a church has lights and a hard rock worship style that the glory of the Lord must not be present. Many assume that a lighting system forces us to be so choreographed that we can not follow the moving of the Spirit. Well, it is just not true. We have an awesome time of worship and we allow the Spirit of God to move!

What I am praying for more and more, is that we experience the glory of the Lord. To quote our evangelist at Fire Fall, there are levels in the presence of God that we have not entered into yet. The key word is YET!

Back From the Woods

2011-11-22T16:54:00.003-06:00

I am back from deer hunting. I did not get a deer. First season for me to strike out in about twelve years. However, the best thing is that Ben, my son, got his first deer while hunting together last Saturday on his 9th birthday. It was really great!

I may have some other opportunites to hunt later this year, so I am not done yet.

Deer Hunting

2011-11-09T15:11:00.000-06:00

Most of you know that I go deer hunting each year to get away, gather meat, and take vacation. This year I will be gone from the 12th to the 19th. Last week, I took Ben on the youth hunt. We had no luck. But, we will have more chances next week.

While you pray for your pastor, pray for rest, rejuvination, and hunting success quick so that I can relax.

40

2011-11-08T08:00:00.000-06:00

Today I turn 40.

Worship Night!

2011-11-07T18:05:00.000-06:00

That was the best yet!

We have improved on worship night! First we made worship night longer. Second, we added an extra way for people to participate. Last and most importantly, I think we are listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit better. We may not be perfect, but we are better! We had some great worship, great celebration, great prayer for needs, and great quiet moments as well.

I am very excited about 2012. I am looking forward to getting two worship nights on the calendar next year. I am also excited about how God may help us improve our ability to hear his voice.

Fire Fall

2011-11-07T14:59:00.002-06:00

Fire Fall started Sunday. I can't say enough about the quality of ministry from the Wall sisters and Aaron Snell. Their story of overcoming grief and loss was right on time for many people at church. One woman in our church bought their book and had read the entire book by 6:30 when worship night started. If you have been through a great loss in life remember a few things that were highlighted to us yesterday.

1. God is for you, not against you.
2. God is the best and most important companion you need.
3. God is your father forever.
4. God gives beauty for ashes, joy for tears.

Be Blessed.

What's Happening?

2011-10-24T10:45:00.002-05:00

There is a lot happening in the next few weeks.

October 30th is Celebration Sunday

Saturday October 29th - Prayer at 6:00 p.m.

Sunday October 30th - Breakfast at 8:30 and Worship at 10:00 a.m.

November 6th - Special Guests

Heather Gillon, author of Dancing On My Ashes and her sister Holly Snell. These ladies have a great testimony to share!

November 6th - Worship night at 6:30 p.m.

November 7th through 9th - FIRE FALL

Evangelist Daniel Tidmore will be speaking each night! Daniel is the staff evangelist of Grace Community Church in Salem. Check him out on their staff page.

What to Pray About

2011-10-14T05:28:00.000-05:00

With a lot of extra prayer time this week, you may wonder what to pray about. First, just pray to know God more. Hang out with him in prayer. Knowing him is the best part of praying and fasting. Second, I want to ask you to be praying and fasting for God's direction and provision in finding a new location for our church.

We need a miracle! Miracles don't just happen all the time. They happen when people pray. We need to pray and seek God. We need to fight the Devil who wants our church to stay small, get discouraged, remain unseen, and ultimately fail. Pray for your church!

Fasting

2011-10-13T14:24:00.003-05:00

This week I am fasting my car. Today I walked to work, to the hospital, from the hospital home and now back to work. Later today I have to walk home again, back for a meeting, and then home again. I am praying a lot. While walking I have also invited one friend to church!

I had a great conversation with a man from church, who I met while walking today. He is fasting television and is loving it! He has read an entire book of the Bible, started a second, and had a lot more quiet time with God in his fast.

Small Group EXPLOSION

2011-09-29T08:57:00.001-05:00

It is not too late to put together a group for Small Group Explosion! If you can H.O.S.T. then let me or Pastor John know. The materials are ready to go. I am very excited to create our first Small Group curriculum for our church. It is simple, but very engaging.

I am trusting God for some great testimonies by the end of October!

TOP 10 LIST ON SUNDAY

2011-09-28T08:56:00.000-05:00

Don't miss church this Sunday! We have a great top ten list from men's retreat you will not want to miss.

We Have It By Faith

2011-09-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

Many of you are asking where we are in purchasing a new location for church. The answer is I don't know the timing. What I do know is that God has given us what we need. Let me give you a run down.

1. We have pledges from The Journey Capital Campaign totalling $282,000.00. Our goal is $300,000.00. We need new pledges on October 30th, Celebration Sunday.
2. We have $82,000.00 in the building fund so far this year.
3. Our building is up for sale.
4. We have saved a large sum of money for down payment or renovations.
5. We have already made two offers.

I am not going to post all the exact numbers on the Internet, but suffice it to say, if several very realistic elements will come together in the next month we can buy the building we want.

Here is the tough news. I could have written this exact same post five weeks ago! It is as if there is some kind of hold-up in the process. I don't know what it is. I am working on this process almost every day for at least an hour, yet we don't have forward movement. What is the solution?

We need to pray! We need God to move us.
1. God moved Israel out of Egypt not only because of his promise that Abraham's kids would live in a foreign land for 400 years, but because in Exodus 3:7 God says, "...I have heard them crying out..." Start crying out with me and your Elders.
2. God always provides a place for his people.
It was the provision of the Garden of Eden.
It was the promise of land in the Old Testament.
It is the promise of Jesus as he left the earth in John 14.
It is the promise of God for us following the rapture.
It is the promise of God in the New Heavens and New earth.
God has a place for us. It is a place that is not just big enough, but big enough to fulfill his mission for us, to reach all nations and reach our region for Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
3. In Isaiah 49:20 God's people call out, "This place is too small." God's will is for us to be fruitful as a church and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it. That means that we need more space.

We need to earnestly pray! I challenge you to pray these Scriptures with me. Pray the promises and principals of God with me for the move that we need immediately.

Men's Retreat

2011-09-27T09:45:00.000-05:00

I am so proud of the men of our church!

We went to our District Men's Retreat this weekend. We won the award for the largest group at the retreat! But I am proud of our men for a much greater reason.

Over and over this weekend, I was complimented on the men of our group. Some were on the worship team and that is an obvious way to get a few compliments, many of them may be simply courtesy. But, in all honesty, our guys can really lead worship with a real anointing.

The compliments that meant the most were the ones that cam out of nowhere, and noticed very small things. I had several people comment on the positive and joyful attitude of some of the men including, Lance Langenberg, Steve Siebert, and Bill Taylor. I had a pastor comment on the amazing camaraderie they noticed in our men and how it bridged the age gaps. Another pastor commented on how well our men jumped in to serve the food at breakfast and work in a needed area. I was most excited at the great attitude of our men who competed in the competitions. We got second in everything (3 on 3, 3 on 3 under 30, 5 on 5, volley ball, tug of war, even in the canoe race, we got second. We just prefer others in love :).

Finally, I am so pleased that we had some great times of prayer. One young man received a vision for his vocation. I think that God did some miracles in some marriages this weekend. I know that God did more than I can know about with a group like ours. Praise the Lord!

Halarity in Devotions

2011-09-27T08:33:00.002-05:00

Our family devotions are every morning at breakfast. Today we ate eggs and toast, a banana, and orange julius. Following the food we read, we are in Proverbs 17. Verse 21 says, "...there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool." All parents need to read this verse to their kids (even if they are adults) and talk about what it means. We did today.

I asked, what does it mean that parents of foolish people have no joy?
Gabe said, "It means that the parents feel bad."
I said, "Give me more, explain HOW do they feel bad?"
Elizabeth said, "REAL bad!"

We laughed for a long time on that one. At least my first grade daughter was listening.

Evil and Enemies #2

2011-09-22T09:31:00.000-05:00

In Matthew 5:38-48 Jesus tells us how to respond to evil and our enemies. though you may not like having enemies, the truth is that by taking a stand for principals that are Godly, will will likely have enemies. In Romans 12:18, the Bible tells us to live at peace with all people, but there is a disclaimer added, because some people don't want to be at peace with you! "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with all people." Our job is to live at peace, but obviously that is difficult because we can't make others be peaceful to us.

In verse 38 Jesus says, "You have heard that is was said..." Again, he does not say, "It is written..." as he does when he quotes Scripture. Why not? Because he quotes a Scripture and adds the traditional rabbinic addition to the passage, "'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy."' Leviticus 19 says, "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself, I am the LORD." Notice that in the Old Testament passage, there is not an instruction to, "hate your enemy." So, where does the Bible say to hate your enemy? No where!

Again, Jesus is contrasting what the Bible actually says with what the Jewish tradition was teaching at that time. A tradition had arisen based on some of the rules intended to keep the Jewish family pure that eliminated Gentiles from the definition of, neighbor. This is why the story of the Good Samaritan was so striking in its day and place. The neighbor was not Jewish.

Jesus then sets a new rule. True Godliness is not tested by how well you treat those who love you, but by how well you treat those who hate you. God himself is our ultimate example. While we hated him, while we were still sinners, while we were rebellious and fighting against him, Christ died for us, the ungodly. With God as our example of how to be gracious and yet full of truth and holy principal, we can treat others likewise. First, we can be people who are full of truth and purity. We can hold to principal and choose not to approve of evil. Second, we can be gracious to those who are evil toward us or pressure us to fall head-long into approving of their evil.

Evil and Enemies #1

2011-09-21T10:28:00.000-05:00

In Matthew 5:38-48 Jesus talks to us about how to respond to evil and to people who are determined to be our enemies.

Jesus begins by referring to a quote, "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'" It is a quote from three possible places (Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; or Deuteronomy 19:21). In Deuteronomy the wording "...eye for eye..." is clearly intended as a stiff deterrent to criminality. If a false witness arises and his or her testimony puts an innocent person in the place of punishment, then the exact same punishment is to be given to the false witness! In the other two locations the eye for eye and tooth for tooth principal is not in the context of revenge, but fairness. If your enemy injures your son for instance and you are really mad, justice does not mean that you can kill him in revenge. It sets a rule that disallows escalation of conflict (only an eye for an eye). The idea that, "You hurt me and I am going to kill you (or hurt you more than you hurt me) for what you did!" is not in the heart of God.

The statement and ethical value that had been derived from, an eye for an eye, over the years actually created revenge, rather than alleviating revenge as it was intended to do! Even in the way we use the term, "eye for eye and tooth for tooth" today, we refer to it as an acceptable form of revenge, "It is OK for me to hurt them back because..."

Jesus points to the spirit of the Law. In God's law there is grace. Jesus does not tell us to not resist evil and give into temptation, but he says, do not resist an evil person. You do not have to pay back what they have done to you. In fact, if they press you for one thing graciously give them two things. Jesus asks us to actually be graciously giving to our enemies. In referring to a legal battle, Jesus says to settle matters quickly with your adversary on the way to court. Here he goes a step further to suggest that you offer a little extra to settle the matter. Could it be that peace with your neighbor is more important to God than money?

So, how do we respond to evil people and evil actions.
1. As much as it depends on you, live at peace with all people.
2. Settle matters quickly.
3. Be gracious, even to your enemies.
4. Do not be overcome with evil, but over come evil with good.

Small Group Explosion!

2011-09-20T11:48:00.000-05:00

October is Small Group Explosion! I am very excited about growing new Small Groups. So far, we now have two new Small Groups that will start in October. One is going to be on Monday nights at David McKim's house.

This week I will finish the DVD studies that we will giving out to the small groups. I am so excited for you all. Both new small groups are already inviting people from outside our church to attend and become involved in their group. That is amazing!

More Mountain Top Livin'

2011-09-20T10:09:00.002-05:00

Enemies and Evil

This week in Mountain Top Livin we are going to look at Matthew 5:38-48 and talk about responding to enemies and evil.

In 9th grade I encountered this guy in PE class who was in 10th grade. One day as we played football he walked up from behind me and hit me. Then he started yelling at me. I don't have the slightest idea why. Didn't know then, never found out later. Then for several days in a row, as we played football the same thing would happen. In between plays of out touch football game he would walk up all tough and mean and push me, hit me and say whatever (I don't remember anything he said, like it really mattered).

He was smaller than me so it was kind of like this little yappy dog bothering me. But, two things kept me from slugging the guy. First, our school had a policy that if there was a fight, both people would be suspended regardless of who started things. I saw several times, people suspended for defending themselves. Second, his friends were all huge! I mean really huge, and when I was a freshman I was 5 foot 9 and 120 lbs. of long distance runner. I knew that if a fight started that his friends were dumb enough to take advantage and beat on a little guy.

At the end of the semester I went into the coaches office for the ceremony of turning in the locker padlock and receiving of the grade. I walked into that little stinky office filled with furniture made of sheet metal from the 1950's and stood before the hulky coach Johnson (coached defensive team in football, wrestling team, and sprinters in track). I handed him my padlock and then waited.

He looked at me and said, "Scheperle, I don't know why you never turned around and clocked that guy. I was waiting for it all year. I would have never turned you in, and you would have never gotten in trouble for it. I am going to give you an A in this class just for self control."

I learned an important less that day. As I walked out of the office I knew that the strongest person was not the one who pushed the other around all year, the strongest person was the one who chose to respond with wisdom and self control.

Some more Mountian Top Stuff!

2011-09-19T09:35:00.000-05:00

Since I will be out of the pulpit again this week, I am going to post my sermon on the blog again. This week we are going to look at and study Matthew 5:38-48.

I strongly encourage you to keep up with the sermon series this week. Last week's message is completely posted. Mountain Top Livin' is honest living. Let's be Christians who keep their word. Let us be marked by simple honesty.

This weeks message focuses on how to respond to people who are evil, hurt you, attack you, or consider you their enemy. This is going to be good stuff!

Men's Retreat Week

2011-09-19T09:27:00.000-05:00

This Friday through Sunday is our annual men's retreat. Each year a group of our men travel to Cross Point Retreat Center for this event put on by the Southern Missouri District of the AG, Men's Ministry. To see where we are going and who we will be hanging out with this weekend, check out the links!

I am very excited that we now have 26 men from our church who will be at retreat. It is going to be fun, but I also think that it will be life changing for us. God is going to answer some prayers this weekend.

On Sunday, I will stay for the final retreat service. Pastor John is returning to speak on Sunday. Kristen Temple is leading worship Sunday morning at church and Tony and our men are leading worship at retreat on Sunday morning.

Mountian Top Livin' #4

2011-09-17T16:09:00.000-05:00

In Matthew 5:33-37 Jesus speaks to us about honesty and speaking frankly.

Learn to Say No.
Jesus says, "let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.'" We work pretty hard at honesty and keep our word when we say "Yes." The trouble is that we may say "Yes," too often. We have a tendancy to become over taxed by saying only "Yes." It is time to learn to say "No."

The worst example is watching politicians. Durring campaign time the word is "Yes." But then later when it is time to work together and make the tough decisions that are not popular with many the answer is "No." It is easy to pick on politics, but is it touigher to pick on our own version of the same tactics.

How often do parents fall into the trap of saying "Yes," to too many things that the kids want? My kids are little and so I am still learing a lot. Last year a successful pair of ministry friends told me about the two sport rule, and for the other friend it was a one sport rule. They determined before all the sporting possibilites stared that their kids would get to choose one or two sports per year. They knew the danger of saying yes to all the sports possibiliteis. So, they clearly helpd the kids to learn not to say yes to all possibilites.

How often do we fall into the trap of saying yes to too many jobs. Not just at church, but maybe in a civic club or even in our jobs. One of my core values is that God gives every believer the ability to balance their commitments to God, church and their community. God is my first priority, my wife is second, my kids are third, and my calling from God is next. Everyting else is balanced after that. I am so serious about this that I joined the Optimist club in town just to show the church that you can keep these tings in balance. This year I am the club President (only for 15 more days, term is up).

One way to see if you are saying yes to too much is to measure your margins. How much space in your life is not occupied by the text of your promises? Do you have down time to rest and hang out with your kids and grandkids. If you don't have free time for your spouse and children, you may not have enough margin. If your job and family take over and there is no room for church then somethign is out of balance the other way.

Let's mke sure that we say "Yes" to what we can really do a great job at and what we must do a great job at.

Mountian Top Livin' #3

2011-09-16T15:39:00.001-05:00

Here is the second truth we learn from Matthew 5:33-37 and Jesus teaching on honesty.

Don't Make Foolish Promises
In Judges 10 we find the story of Jephthah. He was a man who was a mighty warrior. He was called upon by the nation of Israel to led them into battle against their military enemies. In Judges 11:30 he made a vow to the Lord. "If you give me the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return...I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering." God gave him victory, because God was gracious to Israel, not because of his foolish vow to God. When he arrived home in victory, the first thing out of his door was his teen age daughter excited to see her father!

The daughter knew the importance of keeping our vows and promises to God. Here response was,
"...you have given your word to the Lord, do to me as you promised..." What! Are they crazy. God clearly says in his law that we are not to sacrifice our children to any God or gods.

The moral of the story is in Proverbs 13:3, "He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin." When you make statements of what you are going to do, you better be ready to do it. Here are some very painful examples.

1. Don't threaten your kids with punishment and possibilities that are wild and ridiculous. If you threaten your kids with a course of action, make sure it is a discipline that you WILL follow through with. You will do them great emotional harm with threats of them loosing your love and provision. You will also do them great harm warning them forever about the disciplinary consequences, while (in your lack of self-discipline) never making those consequences come true.

2. Don't promise people help or payment that you are not sure that you can give to them. When or if you fail, you hurt them deeply. You also can develop a reputation of being the person in your group that never follows through. It is a great way to loose friends and a horrible witness to those who are looking to your example of what it means to be a Christian.

3. Don't make crazy vows to God. Some Christians have as parts of their essential doctrines the process of making vows to God. But, in those vows, there are many situations where individuals are forced out, kicked out or escape from those vows. Why make a vow to God that you don't have the power to keep. If you feel led to ministry or a ministry, understand that it is the leading of God for you at this time of your life and that his leading can change. I think his calling will not change, but understand the difference. I think that making marriage vows are acceptable. They are vows to another person and vows to God at the same time. They are acceptable only because of the nature of marriage. It is intended to end only at the death of one of the two. However, I think that if you write your own vows you need to think through what you are promising to God and your spouse before you make that vow.

4. Finally, we must realize that if we make a promise to God of any kind, we can only keep it by his power, not our own. God, I promise to follow you. I promise to never do that thing again. I promise to change what I say. God, I promise to witness. The list can go on and on. Whatever you promise God that you will do or not do, you will only accomplish by his help and grace.

Mountian Top Livin' #2

2011-09-15T15:00:00.001-05:00

In the last entry I introduced you to Matthew 5:33-37. Now let's draw some thoughts from it.

Be Honest
This is pretty simple. The spirit of the law and the focus of Jesus teaching is that we live as honest people. That means, don't craft your words to mean two things knowing that someone will take the wrong meaning, yet you can claim to be honest with them. Making your yes, yes and your no, no means, be clear and honest. Don't try to hide the truth.

Real honesty also means that we are not stretching or shrinking the truth. Often deception is accomplished be making the story less than it really was, or more than it really was. When we talk about others errors, we tend to stretch. When we talk about our own errors we tend to shrink. either way, stretching or shrinking the truth, putting on the spin, is obviously for our benefit and can often be extremely selfish. Sometimes this practice is also linked with gossip and telling stories about others.

Proverbs 12:19 says, "Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only for a moment." Your dishonesty will catch up with you. But when you speak honestly, you have nothing to fear, your words can stand the test of scrutiny and examination.

This is really a very simple truth, be honest.

Mountain Top Livin' #1

2011-09-14T17:00:00.003-05:00

Mountain Top Livin' - Keep your word.

The text for this message is Matthew 5:33-37. Here Jesus addresses the concept of honesty and truthfulness in our dealing with others. Jesus refers to a command that we are not to break our oaths that are made in God's name. Again the trouble here is that Jesus is not addressing their treatment of a single Scripture, but a tradition that looked at the Scriptures and created loopholes.

For instance, in the ten commandments God says, "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor." (Exodus 20:16). In Leviticus 19:12 the command is "Do not swear falsely by my name..." In all the Old Testament passages regarding oaths and giving testimony, the spirit of the law is that we are to be truthful.

In the traditions that Jesus was addressing a system had been developed where oaths taken in God's name could never be withdrawn but oaths taken in the name of some created thing could be withdrawn at a latter time and were less morally binding. Apparently this opened the door to some trickery and word crafting that essentially worked on the side of the sly person who wished to be deceptive or half hearted in their commitment.

In response to this confusion Jesus says, simply let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no. Anything more than that comes from the evil one. some have taken this to mean that Christians can never take any oath. Others have said that placing ones hand on the Bible (a created thing) in a pledge or swearing to tell the whole truth would be legalistically prohibited. I personally don't ever see a need to place my hand on the Bible to make a promise, but I am not radially against it. On the other hand, I would not ever make a promise or statement emphasised with, "I swear to God." I think that the term, "So help me God." which a prayer for help can be suitable.

Out of this troubling tradition that Jesus responds to and based on some Bible examples, we can draw some very important truths about what we choose to say as believers. In the next few entries I will elaborate on some of those truths. Stay alert for the upcoming entries!

Mountian Top Livin'

2011-09-12T14:00:00.001-05:00

Since we have a guest speaker this week on Sunday, I am going to do something different with the sermon that is next in our series Mountain Top Livin'.

The next message from the Sermon on the Mount is Matthew 5:33-37. We are going to be looking at what the Bible says about keeping your word. You may think it is a simple subject. It can be. But, it is also very full of information. I will post the parts of the message throughout the week this week.

Missions Weekend

2011-09-12T08:33:00.004-05:00

This week is our Missions Weekend. Please come prepared to hear a great message about God's work in his Church in China. Be ready for a special missions offering Sunday morning. We will also have a Star Fish part on Friday night at church starting at 6:30 p.m. The Daeger's, who were with us in August will be present. Star Fish parties sell jewelry made by ladies who have been rescued from human trafficking and are learning a new trade and money making vocation. The proceeds from the party go to set more women free! On Sunday night at 5:00 (Note this time change!) the Small Groups will meet at church to hear from Mark and Victoria Turney who are veteran missionaries to Africa, stationed in Namibia. Mark is an outstanding missionary speaker!

Bible Quiz

2011-09-07T08:53:00.002-05:00

It is time to get running with Bible Quiz!

Two students talked to me about starting Bible quiz this year. Now that the Assembly of God Bible quiz year has begun let's go for it (It runs from September first to September First). If you are interested in being on our team please let me know. I will get materials to you and we will start learning together. If you are a teen who is called to any kind of ministry you need to be on this team!

If you are interested in helping to coach or sponsor the BQ team or program at church please contact me.

FYI: I was a Bible quizzer, so was my wife Pastor John and his wife Stephanie. My wife Stephanie was the coach for the team that pastor John and Stephanie were on in the 1990's. I was the bus driver for the team. It was not around when I was a teen, but by the time John quizzed, there were scholarships available to Assembly of God schools for BQ teens. They are still available. If you want a scholarship to a Spirit Filled school, get on a spirit filled team.

Students of the Word

2011-09-07T08:48:00.002-05:00

Today I want to encourage you to remain a student of the Word. Stephanie just finished the Bible in 90 days! Way to go Stephanie. I think every Christian should read the Bible through at least one time every year. That way, when you hear preaching, you will never hear a verse used that you have not personally read in the last 12 months. It will keep you from following many very foolish directions that un-biblical teachers will take you.

My goal is still to read the Bible as many times through as I am years alive. It is not about racking up points, but that life goal will keep me close to God and will keep my faith high and my heart pure. No matter how long you have served the Lord, you can't afford to stop being a student of the Word.

Wednesday night Bible study tonight is Exodus 15:22-27, bitter waters, the Lord provides and the Lord is our healer. Good stuff coming to ya'.

Crowded Can be Fun!

2011-09-06T15:40:00.002-05:00

As we head into the fall, don't be scared away from church because you thin it is too packed in the sanctuary! We are making room for more. Over 570 people have attended First Assembly since January 1st of this year. Obviously not all of them live in the area. But about 450 do! Not all of them attend at the same time. We want you to know, that if things get crowded, we will make more room for you. Don't miss church on Sunday, God is doing great things.

Finally, crowded can be fun. Honestly, I am a bit worried about having more space in the future because the intensity of our packed place is so alive. I don't want a change of location to change the faith and expectancy of worship in our church. We must keep up our spiritual fervor no matter who we meet with or where we meet. Also, when it is crowded, new people feel more a part than when they are isolated dots in a huge room. Let's make the most of what we have right now. Crowded can be fun.

Mixed #3

2011-08-29T10:20:00.003-05:00

Mixed Modes

This is the last entry on the Mixed Series. I am perplexed by mixes modes. That is, I am perplexed when people who claim Christ are one way in one situation and another way elsewhere. Speaking one way at work and speaking another way at church. Living a life filled with tension and anger at home and perfect peace with church friends. Treating your spouse with respect and kindness in public and treating them as worthless in private at home.

First, I think it is essential to take the log out of your own eye before you can see clearly to remove the speck from your own in this area. It is easy to read this blog entry and look at others rather than apply it to yourself or myself (Matthew 7:3).

Second, we have been raised, trained, and enculturated to live split lives. There are cultural forces that press Christians to be completely secular at work and in public driving them to suppress their values and faith to the purely private sectors of life. We need to think and examine our lives to break out of this cultural bondage with wisdom.

So, how do we fix the mix?
First, become a student of the Word of God. My daughter is a student of Mrs. Willis. That is, she is daily learning from Mrs. Willis. Are you a student of the Word? Are you daily learning from the Word? You will never be able to examine yourself without having the ruler of the Word to guide you toward a true standard of what is correct.
Second, to fix the mix we have to start with ourselves. You can't change your home, church, city or culture if you don't let God start with you first.
Third, make prayer a priority of your day. Stop having a prayer time that is marked by a list of needs. Start having a prayer time that is marked by listening to God and allowing him to search your heart. Is prayer about God serving you? God protect me, provide, heal, give me wisdom and so forth. Or, is prayer about you serving God? God search me, make me, mold me, change me to what you want me to be.
Fourth, get in a Small Group and talk about what God is wanting to do in your life with a few close Friends. Ministry happens in relationships. If you want to really be accountable to God, make yourself accountable to some friends. Simply stating what God wants to do in you will be the start of accountability.
Fifth, as you grow in God, get some personal security! Most Christians are making really bad decisions about their schedule, their finances, their marriage, their family activities and these bad choices are driven by INSECURITY and FEAR. Let's stop making choices based on fear.
Lastly, let's get really serious about where we are allowing ourselves and our family to learn about how to serve Jesus and understand the word. Do you believe in the rapture? Then why send your kids to a place that teaches them otherwise? Do you believe in sprinkling and infant baptism? Then why let others teach your kids to treat the Scriptures to trust in it? Even in the way we choose to pick devotional blogs, television ministries, and other Christian media forms, lets get choosy! I am not saying that I want you to be judgemental, but make spiritual judgements. But, get serious about what you believe. Your actions are telling your family what you value. Your sources of influence will eventually change you and yours. Last week I literally threw a very nice hard back Christian book in my garbage can. I was not even going to finish it. It don't even want it on my shelf. I don't want anyone in my church to read it or see it in my office.

On a trip last week some ladies from our church visited a powerfully strong church. They asked, how does a church become like that? My wife and I attended that church for its first 18 months of existence. It grew from 55 to 1200 in that time. At 1200 there were three full time pastors. how did they serve 1200 people? Because the church served one another! So, since we were there and a part of it, my wife wheeled around and told them how. "You have about 55 people who are so committed to their church that nothing gets in the way of that church. Your wife and family are first and church is absolutely second in your list of priorities."

She is right. If you want your kids in a great church, it is up to you to make your church great. If you want a great Pastor, realize that it will not always come from the top down, but often from the bottom up. I am not perfect, but I am also only as good as my Elders and Small Group leaders and staff that I am leading. A Pastor may be a great leader, but if no one is following, he is just taking a great walk.

Let's put away our mixed lives and live carefully, and crazy in love with Jesus Christ! I am convicted myself! Let's move on this together.

Mixed #2

2011-08-29T10:15:00.005-05:00

I am continuing my blog series, Mixed Methods.

I am continually finding that Christians are bombarded with mixed methods. Content is everything. The message of a loving, saving, holy God is everything! So why use material that is not aligned with your message, or even contradictory to our message? It is one thing to reference secular music in your message, but it is often contradictory to play the song as if part of the worship set. I have used movie themes to point out the condition of the human soul, but I have learned that I don't need the church to watch the movie. Also, there are some movies that have the same theme, one is R and one is PG, why build up the R movie that no Christian should watch? Why would a church yoke themselves with non-christians who provide a non-christian message for the purpose of drawing a crowd?

At our church, we purposefully engage in activities that allow us to work alongside people who may not be believers. The Relay for Life, The MS Walk and projects with the public schools, police, fire department, and EMS department are all ways we want to work with people who may or may not share our faith message. We love to rub shoulders with un-churched people and people from other Christian groups. But Christians have become mixed when we originate events and allow people to speak or sing into the hearts of our mission field with a message that contradicts our message of life through Christ.

Our methods become mixed when the goal of building relationships with the lost requires us to be dishonest or deceptive about our Biblical standards. Our methods become mixed when we use manipulative techniques to get people to respond in prayer, worship or giving. There is a place for encouragement, there is a place for excitement, a place for correction from church leadership. But those tools must always be handled gently to avoid manipulation and dishonesty.

Here are some guidelines to beat the temptation to be mixed in our methods.
1. Be transparent. Let people know exactly what you are doing and where things are going. Don't share half your vision.
2. Communicate. Give people your full vision. Don't hide your real goals. You will be surprised how fast people may go along with your Godly goals. You will also be surprised how fast they may accept the Bible message of God's love and salvation.
3. Beat insecurity. In Judges, we find insecure leaders making poor decisions. Jephthah made a foolish vow due to his insecurity and fear. Samson thought he needed a girlfriend more than he needed his hair. Don't make decisions about your methods based on your insecurities. Be more concerned about purity than losing followers.
4. Avoid comparison. Do what God tells you to do and don't fall into the trap of having to do ministry like someone else who seems to be successful in their place of ministry.

Let me end with this. At various times, church people in the distant past took bar songs and melodies and put a new set of lyrics to them. The key is that the content changed. Today some of those songs are in our hymnals. Most people have no idea that the melody started out as a non-religious tune. However, today the tunes are tightly associated in our culture with the Christian message. Content is everything. Mixed methods will always confuse the message. The message will always overcome all obstacles if we will let the message shine out pure and holy, life changing and straight forward just as God has given it to us to follow.

Check out these Scriptures: 2 Cor. 7:2-4 and Ephesians 5:3-13.

Celebration Sunday

2011-08-29T09:12:00.002-05:00

We are gearing up for the second celebration sunday of 2011! It will be the six month mark since our last big gathering. We will meet at the Elk's Lodge again, on October 30th. Breakfast will be at 8:30 and worship at 10:00 a.m.

Click here to see some pictures from the April celebration.

Mixed #1

2011-08-24T16:29:00.017-05:00

In recent days and months I have been hit over and over with the same thought. As followers of Jesus Christ our hearts can not be mixed. I am continuously having conversations with people and about people who are mixed in their hearts. Jesus asks us to, "Be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48 ; 1 Peter 1:16)That is a steep hill to climb in our journey, but it is just that, a JOURNEY, not a quick sprint to perfection. because this is such a huge message in my heart the last few weeks, I am starting a blog series on the subject.

To be a holy Christian is to be un-mixed. That is, to be whole in our relationship with God. Our actions match our beliefs. Our emotions and feelings begin to match our stated faith and Biblical principals. When we allow the world to affect us rather than us affecting the world around us, we are becoming mixed.

In the book "Habbitudes" the illustration is used of a thermostat and a thermometer. A thermometer tells us the temperature of a room and its reading is determined by its surrounding. A thermostat sets its reading and then proceeds to change the room. We need to be thermostats and set a Biblical, holy tone where ever we go.

Mixed Minds
I am finding people mixed in their minds. They can't decide what to believe. They are mixed in trying to determine if they really want to serve God. They are really mixed up about what they believe is right and wrong. There is a continual wavering in their faith every time they get some new information from a high school or college class, watch a documentary on TV or hear an opinion on the radio. We can question everything, but we need to do a better job of holding on to the truth.

It is time to become students of the Word of God. The Bible has answers to almost every question that you have in life. There are very few mysteries in life that the Bible does not speak to. Where the Bible is silent, God intends to be silent and leave a mystery. There are no circumstances in life that the Bible fails to address. The primary way to know God's will, is to know God's Word.

The days of trusting our culture to guide us toward what is good are over. Simply trying to fit in will not lead you into holy living and thinking. The possibility of searching Google or Yahoo for a Biblical answer may be scarce. There are multitudes of possible answers to any question if you are looking on the web. Assuming that a person believes the Scriptures because their title is Pastor is becoming a mistake. Many Pastors do trust the Word of God, but others have placed other sources of authority over and along side God's Word. These other sources of authority eliminate some Scriptural truths and disregard others. It is time to study the Word and trust the Word of God.

There is more to come this week.

Wednesday Nights

2011-08-08T15:52:00.002-05:00

The month of August is going to be great on Wednesday nights.
1. Our Membership Class starts this Wednesday night. If you are not a member of the church and would like to join please contact the church office.
2. J D Elleman will be speaking in the bible study this Wednesday. He did a great job earlier this year speaking from the book of Acts.
3. In the last three Wednesday nights of August Dr. Brenda Melton will be speaking about Christians and mental health issues. If you have questions about mental health issues from a Christian perspective, this may be of help to you.

Greater Prayer

2011-08-03T15:52:00.002-05:00

I am making some changes to the way I do bed time prayer with my boys. We usually do the kneeling, short, by the bed kind of prayers at bed time. We often talk a little before we pray. It is prayer, but it is also like an emotional and psychological wind-down ritual.

So, here is my problem. That is not at all how I pray when I have my alone time with God. I walk, raise my hands and I put real effort into prayer. I pray out loud, not whispering. What I am thinking is that our bed time prayer routine is not teaching my boys to pray in the way that I pray or the way I think we need to pray to press in close to God and receive from him. So, we are doing bed time prayers differently.

Last night, the boys were in bed covered with blankets when I came in to pray. I had only been home a few minutes from my Missouri Baptist class I teach on Tuesdays. I got them out of bed. We all lifted our hands together. I told them that God wants men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer. Then I told them to start praying with me out loud about our daily prayers. I am determined that I will start using bed time prayer time to teach the boys to really pray and seek God. Some nights we will pray a little and then worship. I am going to change it up a little each day. But, the intensity level is going to go up.

Why Bad Things Happen

2011-07-26T15:33:00.000-05:00

I am often asked, "Why is this hapening to me? Why is God doing this thing to me?"

No one has a completely easy life. Obviously, some have more challenges than others due to health and other unavoidable obstacles. Regardless of how bad you think your life is, you need to realize that other people have trouble too.

First, God does not usually MAKE bad things happen to people. Sin, Satan and our fallen natural world make a lot of bad things happen. God has allowed it to be so, due to our sin. So, pain and suffering can be blamed on sin, (disobediance to God) but sin must be blamed on humanity, we who have chosen to sin. Your pain may be the result of another person's choice to sin. Don't blame God, he did not victimize you, a sinner did. On some occasions God has made bad things happen as acts of judgement. Unless God has very specifically told you that your pain is an act of judgement, it is not an active action of God to cause you pain or trouble. You find in Scripture, that wehn God sends acts of judgement, he also sends warnings (three visitors, the prophets, John the Baptist and others warned of judgement).

Second, some of our suffering is simply paying the price for our past choices. If you eat in an unhealthy way, don't blame God that you are too heavy. If you smoke, don't blame God for lung disease. If you drink heavily, don't blame God for addiction and liver problems. If you have sex outside of marraige don't blame God for unwanted pregnancy. If your relationships never work out you need to evaluate where and how you are finding relationships.

Third, if you are a follower of God's Son, Jesus Christ, there is another element to consider that gives you amazing hope. As one who is forgiven of their sins, you are an heir to some promised goods like healing and other miracles that God provides to his Children. Most importantly, when you are in right standing with God, trouble is not seen as judgement, but as attacks from the enemy of our souls, the Devil. Believers should strive to serve God with perfection and then fight the Devil and his schemes to harm us. His schemes to harm us always are intended to drive us away from God thourgh doubt, bitterness, anxiety, hatred, or various other things that are not God's will for our lives.

Never give up, hope in God! God loves you and paid for your salvation. Fight your trouble like you are fighting the Devil. "What shall we say then in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31.

What is Next?

2011-07-26T09:28:00.002-05:00

This week is really busy for me because of the fair parade outreach and the work that I must be ready for at the Optimist Club food stands next week at the fair. Also, this Sunday I will be starting a new series in the Sermon on the Mount and the first sermon in a series always takes more time to get prepared. This series may last through December, but the topics in it are extremely varied.

Finally, keep our building committee and Elders in prayer. The Elders have sent off our first offer on another location. We are waiting to hear back. With our relatively limited funds we need a miracle to buy anything in the Washington area.

Have a great day!

Thursday at Camp

2011-07-21T17:48:00.004-05:00

We had a great Wednesday. God did some great things in some boys who were filled wtih the Holy Spirit! I am really excited about what might happen tonight.

Ben in the carpet ball area.
Our boys watching Aiden play carpet ball.

Gabe enjoying lunch.

Below is Pastor Paul doing a head first water slide with a flip at the end.

Camp Wednesday

2011-07-20T16:46:00.006-05:00

Gabe playing football.
Our boys getting wet.

Ben on the rock wall.

One of the great helpers from our church. She has worked crazy hard this week. Below is Gabe getting blobed by Pastor John.

Camp Candy Sales

2011-07-19T23:50:00.000-05:00

I thought I would take the time to mention to you the importance of camp candy sales. because a bunch of our kids worked to sell candy, each student went to camp for $40 per student! $40 for a week of fun and great Bible time and evening church services is a real deal! There are still a couple boxes that can be sold following camp and it will saved up for next year. Looking over these pictures helps you to see what a great deal camp is for your kids. For a week of fun like this and great time with God, no parent should ever put off camp because of money, we work hard to get your kids there if you just indicate that you want them to go. Remember, if you need help going to camp, just ask.

Video Test From Camp

2011-07-19T17:39:00.003-05:00

Thought I would try to upload an iphone video from camp. This is Ben Scheperle going down the two story water slide. There is about an 8 foot drop off at the end.

Camp So Far

2011-07-19T16:44:00.004-05:00

Swimming with (killing) Pastor John.

Singing Monday night with the camp chior. So glad Pastor John gets the boys into this!

Lunch!

We stopped at the capital in Jefferson City for a short tour. If you want your kids picture on the blog let me know and I will try to get a pic of them for you!

Arrived

2011-07-18T18:45:00.002-05:00

We have arrived at camp! We have settled into our rooms and the kids have finished eating dinner. In a little while we will prepare for the first evening service. This week is the most crowded week of camp in the history of the camp! There are just over 1,100 people on the campground this week. We have brought 17 children and five adult workers.

I will get some pictures later tonight and will post them so that you will get a fell for what the kids are doing. Keep us in prayer that God moves and every child has a great week. God can do amazing things in just a moment, and we are trusting that our kids will each have an encounter with him.

Kids Camp Updates

2011-07-16T15:16:00.000-05:00

Watch the blog for Kids Camp updates next week. I will try my best to get a few pictorial updates for you about kids camp. This is a great way to stay informed and get a feel for what your kids are experiencing.

What I am Reading

2011-07-15T15:10:00.000-05:00

This summer has been an interesting reading journey. Here are some things I have read or am reading.
1. The Real Estate Gift by Jim Wootton.
2. Poyama by Russell Stuart Irwin (Russ is a Christian Author from the Washington, MO area)
3. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
4. What in the World is Going On? by Dr. David Jeremiah

Number one and four I am finished with, two and three I am still working on. When finished I will also be reading a book titled, God Without Religion by Andrew Farley.

While I challenge you to read, do not neglect your daily Bible reading.
Remember: Leaders are Learners

God is Faithful

2011-07-14T16:58:00.000-05:00

I am so thankful for God's faithfulness. We are often in need, but God always provides right on time! We don't like the drama of the stress of being in need, but when God clears up an issue that seems impossible we are always extra aware of his provision.

Last night in Wednesday Night Bible Study, we prayed for a woman who was bitten my something (she did not know what) while working in her garden. Her hand was noticabely swollen. While ladies prayed for her, in a matter of a few seconds, the swelling appeared to simply deflate and the discomfort left her. A small red mark was still located at the puncture point, but it was not the least bit swollen. Though small compared to witnessing people healed of cancer and big illnesses, this was the fastest, most visibly obvious healing miracle I have ever seen in person.

God is faithful.

Back to Blogging

2011-07-14T14:45:00.003-05:00

It has been weeks, since I posted my last blog entry. The last entry listed how busy we have been this summer. We did a week of vacation, Mega Sports camp, a week of Youth Camp at the Lake of the Ozarks, made a presentation at the Faith and Science Conference, my wife was out of town for six days at a family wedding in Seattle, and we had a family funeral out of town. Next week we leave for Kids Camp and my parents 40th wedding anniversary celebration we are helping to throw. I have also completed teaching one Intro to Philosophy Directed Study and I am three weeks into the first eight week session of World Citizen at Missouri Baptist University.

Now that the travel part of the summer is slowing down (I think), I want to refocus on getting blog entries completed.

Have a great Summer!

Summer Crazy!

2011-06-14T13:45:00.002-05:00

I am back in town from vacation. We are hitting the ground at full speed with MEGA Sports Camp this week and leaving for Youth Camp at Lake of the Ozarks on Sunday afternoon. So, I will be gone next week Sunday night through Wednesday afternoon.

There is no Wednesday night church this week due to Sports Camp.

I will also be gone Monday and Tuesday, June 27 and 28.

We are preparing for Kids Camp in July and already have a great group bout would love to take more students. Catch Pastor John for more info.

Lastly, we are starting to prepare for the Fair Parade, July 31st! If you want to walk with the float please contact me. You will need to be able to walk three miles in the heat, but it is a TON of FUN!

Grim Reminder

2011-05-17T08:51:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was a grim reminder of how painful our world can be. I used up all my cell phone battery by 4:45 p.m. due to the huge number of calls and responses that needed to be made. So many people with so many hurts. Even in the family of God, in God's church, there is much healing needed. God loves his people and will never forsake them. Even people who love Jesus with all their heart have times of deep pain. God created our world to be a place of perfect peace for his people to live in relationship with him. But sin has destroyed that peace. God is redeeming that peace and he is redeeming you and me.

Perhaps you, your children, your family, your work, your life, has been injured by other peoples' sin. Often we injure ourselves and must face the consequences and pain that occurs on the way to healing. It is amazing how fragile the human spirit is, how fragile the mind can be. We love stories of people who overcame great odds to beat an impossible situation, but more often I personally hear the stories of wounds from life's trouble that seem to never heal. The truth of these stories that make the news, is that many hurts remain and questions are unanswered once the cameras and lights move on to the next sensation.

As I think about these things, I am reminded that Jesus took up our iniquity (guilt), our infirmities (sickness), our transgressions (wrongs against God and others), and HE CARRIED OUR SORROWS!

I can't imagine the weight Jesus carried on the cross. I can't imagine all the types of prayers he must hear every day. Yesterday was a grim reminder that our world needs Jesus more than ever!

At 5:00, with my cell phone dead, I went to run on the river front trail. It was a great time of prayer! I took all these needs to the Lord. For an hour I ran and focused on God. As I ran the Lord rearranged some of my own feelings of despair. As I prayed the Lord reminded me that I would be preaching this Sunday on the "Be Attitudes" and "Blessed are they that mourn, for they will be comforted." Now I am trustintg that God will move and that many of the stories that I encountered yesterday will have a different ending than expected, an ending written by the power of the Holy Spirit in God's people and the love of Jesus, the redeemer of mankind.

Pray for Leaders

2011-05-12T09:47:00.000-05:00

Tonight is our board meeting. The board will be taking care of some great business tonight. So, please keep the board in prayer. Please keep praying for your church. We want God's house to be a place of salvation, deliverance and healing.

While you are praying for leadership, don't forget the instruction of the Scriptures to pray for kings, leader, rulers and those in authority. Please keep our President and our leaders in prayer.

A Fire!

2011-05-10T15:24:00.002-05:00

Today I read the passage in Jeremiah where he describes the urgency in sharing God's word as a "Fire shut up in my bones." He goes on to say, "I am weary from holding it in."

Can you imagine how many people would hear a testimony or receive a conversation about Jesus Christ if just a hundred people from First Assembly had this urgency to share God's Word!

Jeremiah's response to persecution was, "I can stop telling!"

Business Meeting

2011-05-10T15:18:00.002-05:00

Last night was our business meeting.

1. We presented two nominees for Elder, Jonas Temple and Mark Knickmeyer. Mark was selected to serve. What a great pair of people to choose from! We actually had a tie on the first ballot! The church broke into laughter. It was great.

2. We voted to put our building up for sale.

3. We voted to give the Elders authority to create a building committee and put offers on other property and present them for approval by the congregation once the negotiating process is completed.

I have already begun some of the work pertaingin to these decisions. The board will be working on some of the other items later this week.

Please keep your leadership in prayer! We must continue to pray about the decisions our church makes in the growing process.

Reading

2011-05-06T14:56:00.002-05:00

I just finished the book, "The Real Estate Gift" by Jim Wootton. I am now reading "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. It is not a religious book. I just received it as a gift from John McHaffiee. I read "Outliers" this winter and so I was interested in another Gladwell book.

If you want to read the Bible in 90 days, another group is forming at church. They will read the Bible in 90 days starting on June one. Call or talk to Brent Nissen for more info. I can get you a reading schedule!

Keep learning.

Sad News

2011-05-02T15:07:00.002-05:00

We have some sad news. The oldest member of our church, Ursula Wallmeier, passed away Sunday night late. Services will be Friday at 10:00 a.m. at church. Visitation is Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Nieburg and Vitt Funeral Home.

Ursula has an amazing testimony. She was a young woman in Nazi Germany. Her first husband died in the siege of Stalingrad. After the war she married again and lived in East Germany. She and her husband escaped shortly after Joseph Stalin died. They were sponsored by a family in Washington, Missouri and made their home here. She had four children.

Ursula was saved in the early 1980's. While walking down 8th street, she fell and cut her knee. At the time our little church was not air conditioned so the windows were open on that hot Sunday evening. She heard singing from the building and came in to get some care for her knee. The ladies tended to her and she sat down for the preaching and was saved that very night. Her commitment to God has been extremely strong ever since. Just before her husband Heinz died, Pastor David Snodderly led him to Christ.

Each Christmas for many years, we have made a family trip to visit Ursula at Christmas time. We always took her Springerle Cookies. I always had her quote the 23rd Psalm or the Lord's Prayer to my kids in German on those visits. I want them to remember this lady. She may be their link to understanding that the horrors of the middle 20th century were not fictitious. She also loved the Lord and that is worth remembering!

Weekend Rewind

2011-05-02T15:04:00.002-05:00

Sunday was a great day for church. We celebrated communion and had two great times of worship. A lady who has not visited our church in a long time came to second service and was saved. She was greatly emotionally moved. It was also great to have some new visitors Sunday.

The rough part was that my throat was killing me Sunday and my wife Stephanie had to leave early with Benjamin who started running a high fever in the 10:15 service.

The Journey

2011-04-27T07:10:00.000-05:00

I want to give you an update on our capital campaign, The Journey.

We have received just under $283,000 in pledges for the campaign. We have received $74,788 of those pledges so far. In the next few weeks I will give you more info on who money is coming in from the pledges.

If you did not make a pledge or give in the First Fruits Offering I am going to ask that you consider doing so in the next two weeks. I will have pledge cards at church on Sunday mornings and you will be able to give to the capital campaign using our offering envelopes.

Finally, I want to make sure that everyone knows that we have changed our offering envelopes to include the capital campaign. To give to the campaign simply designate your offering on the front of the offering envelope.

Easter Rewind

2011-04-26T15:00:00.002-05:00

This Easter was a record day for our church and a great morning in the presence of the Lord!

We had our first three service Sunday! I love preaching three times. A lady was saved in the 10:15 a.m. service and what a beautiful experience it was!

Our attendance was a record, 245. Attendance the last four weeks has been record setting each week actually. Each week has been a new record.

Along with these number records I am very happy to say that God is working in people's lives. I am trying to organize some of the testimonies from the last few weeks so that people will be ready to share their story with you. Numbers are often deceiving, unless there are individual stories of what God is doing in people's lives.

Lastly, I really enjoyed the Sunrise Service. I was so glad to see so many friends who attended. I think I like having an Easter Sunrise Service. I have not been to one since I was a child in the Lutheran Church.

Blogger Probelm

2011-04-18T08:45:00.001-05:00

I am sorry that the previous post is all one paragraph. Blogger is doing something very weird. I have tried to fix this since yesterday afternoon and can find no remedy. Sorry for the crammed blog entry.

Celebration Sunday Report

2011-04-17T18:26:00.007-05:00

Celebration Sunday was really spectacular! Here is a run down of some of the offering and pledge totals for The Journey Capital Campaign. Total Pledged: $282,460.00 Total in the First Fruits Offering: $74,708.15 I went over to the church this morning only to find that someone who could not be at Celebration Sunday today had sent a check to me in the mail. It was for the building fund. It was $51,500.00! I knew that was a good start for celebration Sunday. It was only a check, no pledge was enclosed. When I announced the First Fruits offering, it included that gift. When I announced the pledges, it did not include that gift because it was not in the form of a pledge. However, considering it as a one time gift and the completion of a three year pledge up front the above numbers are correct. We had an absolutely amazing morning. Here are some of the great highlights. 1. So many people helped to make this an amazing day! Mark Knickmeyer and Tim Willard had perhaps the most time consuming and stressful jobs of the campaign with huge amounts of organization accomplished. 2. So many others helped I don't know where to start. Many people almost 20 gave an entire day of work to this project this week. 3. I am absolutely proud of The Stand Youth. First, they beat the $1,000 goal I set for them. zThey raised $1,000 in one month. Second, when worship started, over 30 youth hit the front of the room, lifted their hands and began to worship God. What an amazing experience. 4. It was amazing to see our entire church at one time! Today was a new all time record attendance of more than 220. 5. Two young ladies responded to the opportunity to be saved. One of the young ladies has responded before. The other, who was younger, was responding for the first time in an adult service. Her mother had never seen her accept Christ in a public way. We have now seen 22 people saved on Sunday mornings in 2011. 6. The enthusiasm of our church is a huge blessing to me. I am thrilled to be a part of what God is doing for us. From young people to older people, there is a real excitement in all of our hearts.

Runners

2011-04-12T16:35:00.002-05:00

We have had a recent visitor who was training for the Go St. Louis marathon. Running through town this person kept running past "Nothing's Too Hard For God" signs. The theme of the signs kept them going in their training. Then, they decided to come to church. Pretty cool. Thanks to all who put out one of our yard signs. We are actually growing in the number of runners in our church. We actually have a good size group that could start meeting to train for a marathon together. We could pick a race in the fall and all have fun running together. With a group, we could do some very creative runs too. Talk to me if you want to get started.

RSVP

2011-04-05T11:45:00.000-05:00

We need you to RSVP for Celebration Sunday! RSVP cards are at church and will be in the bulletin on Sunday again. Worst case, call the office! All RSVP cards must be received by Sunday morning. We have to give the caterer our count on Monday morning, April 11th.

RSVP This Week

2011-04-05T10:45:00.002-05:00

We need all our responses for Celebration Sunday in by this Sunday morning! RSVP cards will be in the bulletin again. Please come to Celebration Sunday even if you have only been a visitor to our church. This is a weekly church service for us and we want to you attend and be in God's presence! Invite friends and RSVP for them too! Invite a friend to church on the day that we will feed them lunch. We are over 170 at this time, but have plenty of space for a whole lot more!

Leadership Meeting

2011-04-04T11:35:00.000-05:00

We celebrated a mile marker in The Journey Friday night! We invited all our leaders of ministries at church to attend an advance commitment meeting. In 1 Chronicles 29, King David was preparing to build the temple. When they received the offerings to build the Leaders of Israel gave first (vs. 6-8). "The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD." (vs. 9). So we have followed that pattern and asked the leaders of the church to let us know what their commitment might be on Celebration Sunday. From 17 households, 30 people who are leaders in our church, we already have commitments of $99,700. That is GREAT! Thanks to all who participated. I want to encourage you to keep praying about your commitment on Celebration Sunday. Every person's commitment is essential, no matter the size. We expect equal sacrifice, not equal gifts.

Please Keep Your Cell Phone On.

2011-04-02T09:56:00.001-05:00

If you have a cell phone with a texting package, bring it to church on Sunday morning and forget the announcement that we make each week to turn off your cell phone during the worship service. This Sunday will be fun!

Turn Your Cell Phones On Durring Serivce!

2011-04-01T09:52:00.001-05:00

The Journey Goal

2011-03-31T09:57:00.003-05:00

We have been announcing our goal for The Journey, our capital stewardship campaign. Our goal is to raise $300,000. Now, let me tell you a secret. We set that goal several months ago. Two things have happened since we set the goal. First, our campaign consultant returned to us the research on our giving records from last year. That research helps our consultant determine what the average church in our situation could raise. He says that it is possible for a church like ours to raise $350,000 in three years. Second, our attendance and giving has increased dramatically in the last three months. So, here is what you will be seeing in the next week or so. 1. Our Campaign Goal - Our bottom line goal that we must reach is $300,000. 2. Our Challenge Goal - If we really take up the challenge of giving sacrificially and by faith we can reach $350,000. 3. Our Miracle Goal - If we take up the challenge and God moves mightily, we can blow all the averages away and reach $400,000 in our campaign. If God moves mightily, we will be able to move faster in the relocation process and do it with less debt! Stephanie and I have been praying for months that God would move us with little or no debt. And you know me, I pay down debt! I have proven it with my life. I am trusting that God will allow us to do the same with his house.

10,000

2011-03-29T13:59:00.003-05:00

This last week, Pastor With Coffee hit a mile marker. Since I started keeping track, we have now had 10,000 visitors to Pastor With Coffee. That does not count visitors in the first several months of the blog before we started counting. Nor does it count all the people who view the blog entries through Facebook notes. Thank you Lord, for the opportunity to serve people.

A Great Text

2011-03-28T19:58:00.003-05:00

Today a man sent me this text. I have permission to post it. It is in reference to The Journey, our capital campaign. "God is Good. My wife and I decided to raise our 3 year giving goal yesterday (for the campaign) because we felt we could do our goal no problem. So, we bumped up our goal in faith to see God work. Well, this morning I got another raise at work and wasn't due for one until October. That makes three in one year, which is unbelievable." I can't promise that every person who makes a sacrificial committment to The Journey will get a raise at work. We don't give to get. But, if you are giving simply to please God, from a heart of generosity, I believe that you will see God work in your situation too. I don't know which creative way he will work, but you will find out how faithful he is. Just this morning Stephanie and I had the exact same conversation, we too decided to raise our goal beyond our ability. It was a real joy to get this text within about ten minutes of the conversation with Stephanie. It was confirmation to us about our own conversation.

NRG Kid Church

2011-03-22T09:28:00.002-05:00

Pastor John Jahnke regularly gives out take-home papers in NRG Kids Church. This week the kids received a very helpful two sided sheet on making good use of our time, and understanding that time is a gift from God. You are a steward of your time.

If you did not get one of these handouts to go over with your kids this week, please ask Pastor John for another one. Please use the resources that Pastor John distributes to help you disciple your children through the week. The handout this week is very valuable and could dramatically change your home life.

Weekend Rewind

2011-03-21T12:47:00.003-05:00

Sunday was our first week in our Capital Campaign series, "The Journey." We started by looking at the history of the Assemblies of God in Washington, Missouri. Along the way we discovered stories of great sacrifice and work that brings us to the place of writing the next chapter in our history.

Two ladies responded at the end of service to receive Jesus as their savior.

In Small Groups we are studying "Take God At His Word." In our group the conversation was really honest and at the same time very encouraging. Honestly, there are times when it is hard to tithe and give obediently in the offering because our faith is tested with difficulties. But, we have so many testimonies of God's faithfulness to provide.

This Sunday you will hear some testimonies that will richly bless you and reaffirm to us that God is faithful to his promise to provide. Not only does he provide, I believe that he will bless us to thrive. The purpose of thriving is not selfish indulgence, but to have further opportunity to give, bless and help others.

The Journey

2011-03-17T08:49:00.002-05:00

This Sunday is the first in a four week, final push, for our capital campaign. It all leads up to April 17th, Celebration Sunday.

We will be starting several new things this Sunday.
1. Friends Praying With Friends - We are going to encourage each person to pray for and contact two people each week for the next four weeks just so that we are all praying for each other.
2. Take God At His Word - We are starting a Small Group Bible study in all our small groups that describes four words from God to you about stewardship.
3. Jungle Jam and NRG Kids Church - Our kids are going to be studying stewardship and generosity in Sunday services. They are also going to be raising funds for Celebration Sunday's First Fruits Offering. They will have a special presentation in the Celebration Service.
4. The Stand Youth - The Stand is starting a series of lessons based on the book Overflow. Every teen in our church should have a copy of this little book! A youth group of 700 raised 75,000 for missions in three months. It is full of great testimonies from youth. The youth will also be raising funds for Celebration Sunday and will also have a presentation in the Celebration service.

Don't miss the next four weeks of church. I know that it is packed at church. We are setting out more chairs! We will make room for you. Every person is important to God and to me. Don't miss out on any of these amazing things that going to happen through our church this month. God is really moving!

Prayer Request

2011-03-16T10:00:00.000-05:00

Keep Stephanie in your prayers. She is going to have a spot of Melanoma removed Friday morning.

Her second appointment to deal with the other spot is scheduled for May 5th. Let's pray that God does the healing before these appointments.

The Harvest

2011-03-15T15:00:00.000-05:00

There are 69,000 people living in a ten mile radius of our church in Washington. If half of them are saved, then we have 34,500 people to reach for Jesus. If we win one person to Jesus every day, (the Lord added to the church daily) it would take 94.5 years to reach those 34,500 people.

I could write a lot more for you to read in the next few minutes, but I would rather have you pray about our mission.

The Journey

2011-03-15T10:02:00.000-05:00

This Sunday we will start the four week stewardship education emphasis. We are going to be studying the handy little book that we distributed Sunday, "Take God At His Word." If you don't have a copy for your home, please see Pastor John so that you get one. We have enough for every household in our church! It is FREE!

We are also doing several other things.
1. Our kids and youth will be studying stewardship and giving this month too. In kids ministries and The Stand Youth, they will be collecting offerings for the First Fruits offering that will be on Celebration Sunday. This is going to be exciting!
2. Our prayer team will be presenting two ways to be involved in prayer in the next four weeks. Keep your eyes peeled for the "Friends Praying For Friends" opportunities. We need to emphasize taking time to pray for one another. Also, on April 3rd, we will start our fourteen days of prayer, which will end with a huge prayer gathering on Saturday, April 16th.
3. Our Communication team will be sending out the invitations to Celebration Sunday later this week. In those invitations you will find an RSVP for Celebration Sunday. We need a response so that we can plan for food. If you have only attended our church for one week, we still want you to be at Celebration Sunday! Absolutely everyone is welcome and urged to attend. Your life may be forever impacted and changed by attending Celebration Sunday!

Please remember, on Celebration Sunday we will receive a First Fruits offering to kick start The Journey. Then we will be collecting our faith commitments that the Lord will help us to give in the next three years of The Journey.

Weekend Rewind

2011-03-14T09:43:00.002-05:00

What a packed weekend!

Friday and Saturday were filled with time with friends this weekend. It was a real joy to fellowship. It was also great because we had two conversations that really ministered to us in the situations that we are facing medically with Stephanie and Gabe.

Sunday morning I took Gabe aside during worship and we prayed together about the oral surgery that is coming up. We are praying that the Lord would work so that he does not need the surgery. I am hoping that the Lord will do a miracle for him that will forever teach him about the reality of God's healing love for us.

Sunday was also special because four young men came forward to be saved in the second service! As the four of us gathered to pray, I may have been the smallest guy in the group! God is also working the lives of several other people! A man who recommitted his life to Christ in my office Tuesday, made a public confession of his faith Wednesday, and witnessed to a fellow worker who is heavily involved in the occult on Thursday. The co-worker responded in tears! I don't have the rest of the story yet, but will find out later today.

Lastly, we had four hours of meetings with the different Capital Stewardship Campaign teams on Sunday afternoon. For lunch I visited my friend Mike's mom who is suffering severely with breathing problems. Please pray for her healing with us, her name is Stella. By the time I got home Sunday at 5:45, I was a bit tired. I woke up this morning about 3:45 with all these things swimming in my head. I was praying for God's help, but also thanking him and enjoying his blessings.

The Journey

2011-03-08T11:20:00.000-06:00

We are preparing for our Celebration Sunday, April 17th. To be prepared I am going to try something that I have never done before. (I usually speak on giving or generosity one time per year, not even every year to be honest. I think I missed a couple.)

On Sunday mornings I am preaching about financial matters and what the Bible says about money. This is not just about giving! This is about coveting, working, lending and borrowing, and most of all, our attitude toward God and all the types of blessings that he provides for us. God's blessings are far more than just money. I believe that God wants to give you the desires of your heart, when you delight yourself in him.

On Wednesday nights I feel compelled to provide something to the core people of our church. I will be sharing a video series called, "The Blessed Life." I have watched this series more than one time. Brother David Snodderly says that every person in our church must see this. He actually bought this series and mailed it to me! When Stephanie and I listened to these messages we were deeply challenged! If you are already a tither and a giver, then this set of messages is made for you. If you are a committed believer, this is for you. This is not for the seeker or the half hearted. But if you want to really move deeper in your trust of God, don't miss out on this.

In our Small Groups we will begin a study called, "Take God At His Word." It also is about generosity and stewardship.

This is a lot, but there are two extremely great purposes that I have in this course of action.

1. I want people in the church I pastor to be BLESSED! And I know that people who mis-manage God's blessings, refuse to tithe, and are afraid to give will not be blessed. I want you to have the blessings of healing, peace, accomplishment, and more of God's presence. Can God honestly grant his blessings to ones who will not trust him regarding material blessings?
2. I want Christians who have served the Lord for years to be challenged in their hearts to trust God for everything, like Stephanie and I have been challenged to trust God for everything! Have these challenges been easy? NO WAY! However, as we work through the challenges of doing his will and working our hearts out for him every day all day, we are FILLED WITH JOY!

Slammed

2011-03-08T04:56:00.002-06:00

Last week Stephanie and I got slammed with seven different difficulties. Two health issues, one large financial issue, a couple bits of damage at church due to the 89 mph wind storm. The good news is that God provides! He is our peace. He has set us on a rock, our feet will not slip.

Satan is simply trying to take our eye off the goal. God's Spirit is moving and his plans for us are being accomplished. God is working in the lives of people in our church and in our Small Groups. God is using people in our church to propel the Kingdom forward, and I am so proud of them!

Bible Reading

2011-03-03T10:09:00.002-06:00

I am keeping my eye on my goal. I want to read the Bible through as many times as I am years alive. I am still behind. I can and will catch up. Have to make up for my first 16 years of no regular Bible reading. My first time through the Bible was as a Sr. in high school.

Why do I want to do this?

1. Reading the Word is a faith builder. The more I read, the more I believe. Even if I have already read it once in the last year.

2. Reading the Bible straight through is good for comprehension and understanding the context. In my last read through I came to realize that the highest moment, the apex of the book of Exodus is not the Red Sea crossing, but the glory of the the Lord at the tabernacle. Context, Context, Context!

3. I take, and write, notes in my Bible. I have one "Scribble Bible" that I have five sets of notes in. Each time I went through that Bible, I used a different color pen. I am now filling up "Scribble Bible" number two. some day I will start number three. These will one day be wedding gifts to my children.

Take twenty minutes a day and read the Word. Four chapters a day and you finish in one year.

A Pastor

2011-03-01T08:48:00.001-06:00

The job of the pastor is the most important job in the world. I am not saying that it is most fun, highly paid, easiest or hardest of all jobs on earth. I am saying that it is the most important today. I am not saying that the Church has fully grasped a Biblical understanding of Apostle or Prophet in our day. I am not negating the cultural mandate. If we did practically work out those details, the situation of pastors could be different. For today, and in our current situation, the pastor is the most important job on earth.

Consider these reasons:

1. The entire Church on earth is essentially tens of thousands, even millions of congregations. Each one is led by a pastor. If the pastor fails, that corner of the kingdom of God fails. In this regard, the pastor holds the whole thing together.

2. Even when you look at higher ecclesiastical positions in churches, often the local churches make those positions of leadership possible. No healthy local church, then no healthy position of overseer, presbyter, bishop, cardinal, or even Pope. Why have positions of oversight when there is no one to oversee? Who pays the overseer? The local churches do.

3. In my estimation, all Christian ministries on the earth find their source of income and their base of ministry in the masses of people who are a part of a local church. Christian radio, missionaries, evangelists, traveling singers, Christian authors, Christian television and book stores all derive their existence on the foundation of the Church which is made of congregations led by pastors.

4. The direction of our culture, nation and world depends on the direction that pastors take their local congregation. For instance, when hundreds of pastor decide that abortion is good, then the entire culture is affected. Elections are affected and communities are changed. In our strange media situation today, one wacko pastor can affect the world. One pastor preaching that sin is now acceptable by God gets the microphone on the local news station even if a thousand pastors in the same viewing area disagree, and a 50-50 view point is presented.

5. The health of individual people depends on pastors. Pastors refer to counselors, drug intervention programs, assistance programs of all kinds. Pastors who will stick around, will be the ones who pick up the pieces of a family when these other fee-based programs and options of help do not work out. The pastor is still connected because it is a relationship based connection, not a fee for service connection. When the Dr. fails, the pastor has to deal with the mourners. When the undertaker is paid and done, the pastor walks with the grieving through their first year alone.

6. Pastors lead people to Jesus Christ. The greatest soul winning tool in history is the local church. It is great that world famous evangelists have lead thousands and millions to Christ. However, if any of those stayed in relationship with Christ it is because they were connected to and discipled by a local church led and equipped to do so by a pastor.

I know that we live in a world where many people hate "organized religion." We live in a world where the systems of delivery are changing at an amazing rate. Relationships can be developed in ways globally like never before.

But here is the truth of these thoughts. If you hate organized religion, but say you are religious, you are dishonest, you don't hate organization because you have organized a religion for yourself, you are just very alone. We do live in a world of changing delivery systems, but the most honest delivery is to get to know a person face to face, and be mentored by their life. Though relationships develop globally on the Internet, there is no substitute for face to face interaction. Social networking is deceptive. It is the new way of "keeping up with the Jones'."

We need all kinds of specialized ministries. And, most of all, we still need pastors for churches.

Weekend Rewind

2011-02-28T15:25:00.003-06:00

This weekend was great in many ways.

First, we have a special guest, Dr. Mark Wootton share with us. He started Saturday night with a special session for our leadership team. He talked about leadership principals. Then he spoke on Sunday morning about the important themes of Pentecost, the harvest and meeting a holy God. Check out this great message on our audio page at www.firstagwasghington.org. Then on Sunday afternoon he did a two hour seminar on the understanding the four gospels. It was like gathering mana in the desert.

Second, having Mark and his wife Joy at church was literally having a fresh set of eyes to look at our church. I love getting input from people outside our church about the things that I might be taking for granted.

Third, Sunday was a new record attendance for a regular Sunday morning attendance. There were 173 of us there Sunday. That is only 16 less than Easter last year. Now, here is the scary thing. We are working on a new way to follow attendance, we have been keeping attendance on paper for years. You would think our church management software would do one of the most important tasks in church, take attendance. It will not. We are looking for new software this year. Now that we have changed our attendance tracking process, we have learned that 270 different people have attended our church since January. That means a lot of people who call our church their church home attend sporadically. We must connect better. It also means that we are going to have to get serious about what to do this Easter Sunday so that we have room for everyone.

Life is Hard, God is Good

2011-02-16T08:03:00.002-06:00

In the last year I have come to redefine how and why bad things happen to good people. The bottom line is that life is hard and full of trouble. Even for believers, life can be full of trouble. However, God is good. He is the source of everything good in my life. Satan is the source of trouble. God allows some trouble, but it is always trouble that God can empower me to overcome.

This simple definition helps me a lot. First, I am ready to fight bad things in life and look for God's ways of overcoming. I have an overcoming attitude. Second, I feel a greater sense of God's protection, even when bad things are happening to me. I know that he is still in control and saving me from unbearable difficulties. Third, it removes from our minds the temptation of blaming God for things.

So, if you are having a rough time with something, just remember. Life is hard, God is good.

Make God Look Good

2011-02-15T13:20:00.002-06:00

Do you make God look good? That is a strange question, but it is a question that God asks himself.

Isaiah 48:9-11
9 For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath;
for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
so as not to destroy you completely.
10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.
How can I let myself be defamed?
I will not yield my glory to another.

Did you realize that in God's perfection, he has self-respect? Because of his self-respect he may withhold his wrath against his people when they are blatantly disobedient. The idea is, "I will hold back from sending calamity because I love them and because those people bear my name, and my name should be associated with good things, not bad."

If you claim to follow Jesus Christ, then your life says something about Jesus.

So, what is your life saying?

Does your life make Jesus look good? Are you making Jesus look good at work, around your kids, in your marriage, with your neighbors or at school? Jesus is good! Even though life is full of trouble, we can make Jesus look good even as we go through trouble and very good when he brings us out of trouble.

Let's make God look good! Let's not make him push the limits of his mercy. Let's live such good lives that people can not help but say good things about the God we serve and love.

Weekend Rewind

2011-02-14T10:50:00.000-06:00

Sunday was an awesome day! Attendance was good, but the presence of the Lord was the best! For me, there seemed to be an extra special presence of the Lord at communion time this Sunday in both services. Let's make the most of communion. Don't let it become routine. Ask the Lord for his touch in a special way before Communion.

In second service three people responded to the gospel message and asked God for forgiveness and started a new walk with Jesus Christ! This is why I am a Pastor. The greatest work of ministry for me is leading people to Jesus. Paul told Timothy, a young pastor, "do the work of an evangelist." What if a Pastor is gifted at administration, teaching, or counseling? That's great! Be great at those things, but teach yourself, train yourself, pray for God's help, and do the work of an evangelist. As I prayed with the kids at bed time Sunday night, I thanked God for the three people who were saved and tanked God for the great privilege of leading people to Jesus.

Love is In the Air!

2011-02-14T09:34:00.003-06:00

Happy V-Day! Go do something beautiful for your spouse today. "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ (Jesus) loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy..."

Husbands, take the lead. Take initiative to do great things for your wife (and family if you have kids). Love is great when there seems to be "chemistry." You might say that, "love is in the air." I say, and the Scriptures seem to concur, take initiative to love your wife, and you will be creating the chemistry and atmosphere that puts love in the air.

First Fruits Offering

2011-02-09T09:05:00.000-06:00

On Sunday, April 17th, we will have our celebration Sunday. We will be having one service and we have rented the Elk's Lodge on 5th street to house the crowd. Church will start at 10:00 a.m. We will worship, there will be a message, and we will be receiving our first fruits offering and making our faith-promise or capital campaign pledges that morning. Then we will receive a first fruits offering. Following worship we will be serving the entire church lunch.

What is a first fruits offering? It is the first offering that we will commit to the capital campaign. I believe that we may receive a large percentage of our total goal on that morning! What an exciting way to begin reaching four our goal.

I want to encourage you to be praying and preparing for celebration Sunday. Begin to ask God what he wants your faith promise to be. Second, ask God what he desires for you to do with the first fruits offering. You need to be praying about this because we are not going to tell you what you should give. You also need to pray because we are not going to harass you about turning in your faith promise pledge, that is between you and God. You need to obey the Lord's direction. I have already been saving money for my first fruits offering so that I will be able to give my very best to the Lord. I am praying that he will increase that amount!

Missions Giving Record

2011-02-08T08:56:00.002-06:00

I received the report yesterday. It is official! Last year we gave over $50,000 to missions. Two years ago we missed 50K by about $280. Then the economy went bad and though our tithe has increased, our missionary giving has been very stable, but without increase.

In April of 2003 we supported 9 missionaries. This year we are supporting 31 and the amount that we support each of them is larger than the amount that we were sending when we started.

A Church that gives to missions will be blessed. We have been blessed. Now, I am trusting the Lord that our mission giving will continue to increase slowly while at the same time our church is able to invest heavily in our capital campaign to raise relocation funds. We serve a big God with all the resources we need.