nrcave

If you could only listen to 1 song for the rest of the week.....

2009-10-02T08:28:00.002-05:00

Icebreaker from Wednesday's Life Team at Kevin & Mary's. What song would you choose if you could only listen to 1 song for the rest of the week? Here they are with name, and a link to the tune:

-Fallon - From the Inside Out (Hillsong) http://tr.im/Ar1x

-Kevin - Summertime (The Fresh Prince) http://tr.im/Ar22

-Michelle - Think Twice (Eve 6) http://tr.im/Ar2B

-Ellie - What Do I Know of Holy (Addison Road) http://tr.im/Ar32

-Brittney - Until You (Dave Barnes) http://tr.im/Ar3l

-Sarah - How Deep the Father's Love For Us (Stuart Townend) http://tr.im/Ar48

-Chelsea - Fool That I Am (Adele) http://tr.im/Ar4O

-Mary - Arms of a Woman (Amos Lee) http://tr.im/Ar5h

-Alex D - Be Good To Yourself (Journey) http://tr.im/Ar5R

-Ashley - Skinny Love (Bon Iver) http://tr.im/Ar6F

-Ali - Drown (Chasen) http://tr.im/Ar79

-Heather - The Way You Look Tonight (Michael Buble) http://tr.im/Ar7J

-Andrew - I'm Confused (Handsome Furs) http://tr.im/Ar8k

-Stephen - The Trapeze Swinger (Iron & Wine) http://tr.im/Ar8Y

-Joe - Bile Them Cabbage Down (Andy G) http://tr.im/Araq

-Alex Kursave - How He Loves (David Crowder Band) http://tiny.cc/VqKgl

-Robin - Be Unto Your Name (Linda S) http://tiny.cc/LV4iK

-Sarah F - Hero (Skillet) http://tiny.cc/4OLYA

-Nathan - Empty With You (The Used) http://tiny.cc/qZwEY

2009-09-25T12:46:00.002-05:00

9 CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

1. FOCUSING
a. Have the attention of ALL students
b. Don’t teach over chatter

2. DIRECT INSTRUCTION
a. Tell the students what the agenda is for the day

3. MONITORING
a. Move around in the classroom
b. Circulate
c. Make sure students are doing work and doing it correctly

4. MODELING
a. Values are caught, not taught
b. Do not yell. Speak in a soft voice

5. NON-VERBAL CUEING
a. Facial expressions, hand signals
b. Clapping 3x then have students do it back
c. Raise hand for silence; flip lights

6. LOW-PROFILE INTERVENTION
a. Don’t get in verbal confrontation with a student
b. Be quiet and calm (keep your cool)

7. ASSERTIVE DISCIPLINE
a. Good mix of praise
b. Rules are laid out and enforced
c. The teacher is the boss

8. ASSERTIVE I-MESSAGES
a. Statements that the teacher uses when confronting a student who is misbehaving
b. “I need you to do….”

9. HUMANISTIC I-MESSAGES
a. Expressions of our feelings
b. 3 part structure
i. “When you talk when I’m talking….”
ii. “……I have to stop my teaching……”
iii. “…….which frustrates me.”

[Via S. West, GCMS]

THE HOUSE pt. 1

2009-08-19T14:57:00.000-05:00

The House pt. 1 ‘Open House’ – Matt Johnson

Exclusivity makes us feel special, but it is a bad thing for church.

DANGER: the longer we exist as a church, the easier it is for us to lose sight of what God has called us to do.

Acts 15: 1-20 1Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." 2This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 3The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad. 4When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.
5Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."
6The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
12The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. 14Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. 15The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
16" 'After this I will return
and rebuild David's fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
and I will restore it,
17that the remnant of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things
18that have been known for ages.
19"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."
Jesus made it simple. Why would we want to make it difficult?
As a church, we should make it easy for people who want to follow God.
We want to complicate the God thing, in order to make it hard for outsiders to get in.
In the modern church, it is about what kind of music you like, how you dress, what political party you vote for, and agreeing with the pastor instead of being about Jesus.
We think God loves all people, not just church people.
Let’s not make it difficult for people who are turning to God.

Listen online: http://bit.ly/FKlTM
Visit the Journey online: http://theepicjourney.com and on twitter: http://twitter.com/theepicjourney

The Orange Code pt. 1

2009-08-04T15:01:00.000-05:00

The Orange Code Pt. 1 Matt & Robert Johnson
Twitter: (@MattJohnson21 & @johnsonrn)

• Between 70-80 percent of college students walk away from their faith by the time they graduate.

FRAMEWORK: God designed the church and the family to work hand-in-hand. The church is a light; the family is a place that models God. The church is yellow, family love is red, and when the two work together it makes orange. We must figure out a way to make this happen.

• The church is not the primary spiritual influence in the lives of kids, parents are.

• Two combined influences always make a greater impact in a child’s life than just two influences alone.

• It all starts at the home

• There are no perfect parents! Not even in the Bible!

• Good News: God does not expect you to be a perfect parent!

o Even if you were perfect, it wouldn’t guarantee that your kids would be who you want them to be, let alone who God wants them to be.

• We all have a picture of what we want our kids to grow up to be.

• Deuteronomy 6:4-6 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.

o Parents/families trust and obedience to God will not only have an impact on them, but on their children and grandchildren.

o The decisions parents make today will have a profound impact on the relationship their offspring will have with Christ.

o The greatest legacy is what you build in your children, not what you give to your children.

o Impress on your children the love and the character of God.

o Essential truth: Our God is God. It’s all about Him.

o It doesn’t matter what our kids know if they don’t know what really matters.

o If we don’t leave our kids with a love for God, nothing else really matters.

o The most valuable gift you can ever give your child is your love for God.

o If you don’t have a love for God, and model it day in and day out, your kids probably won’t either.

• What is your next step in living out Deut. 6:5 and showing your kid(s) that you love God with all your heart, soul, and strength?

Listen: http://bit.ly/BAjOV

Check the Journey out @ http://theepicjourney.com and on Twitter: http://twitter.com/theepicjourney

Nicaragua Panel Discussion

2009-07-28T14:36:00.000-05:00

July 26, 2009 the Journey – Nicaragua Panel Discussion
Featuring Matt Johnson, Loren Wilson, Alisha Temple, Kevin Swartz, Lisa and Elizabeth Whitt

In November when you first heard about LUO, what made you decide to choose get involved?
• Give kids food, shelter and education. As well as a Christ-based education.
• Put faith in Matt, knew the project was legitimate.
• The realization that only $200 could support a child for a whole year.
• Helps instill solid principles in our children over here.

What appealed to you about going down to Nicaragua? Did you have any concerns?
• Seeing the child that you sponsored. Getting people to sponsor you to raise the money to go.
• A little concern about safety and health.
• Having a 9 year old see how other 9 year olds around the world have to live. An experience that can never be taken away.

In general, what did you do while you were there, and how was it different than what you expected?
• Playing with kids in the dump. Visiting safe homes to play with kids.
• Go to know people, and meet their needs.
• Painted at homes and dumps; fixed things up.
• Took kids on little trips and hung out with the kids.
• Played in the pool with kids.
• Developed relationships with the kids.
• Played soccer with the kids.
• The school is the center of hope among despair.
• Moved things from old home to new home.
• Not a lot of expectations going into Nicaragua

First impressions?
• Animals are among the people digging through the dump.
• Overwhelming.
• You don’t know what to do.
• Surprised that the kids are happy at school, considering the horrific environments they live in.
• Hard to fathom until you see it.

Experience with the kids?
• Fun.
• Language barrier, but universal languages are play and music.
• Girls home created a bond and sense of community.
• The bus was kind of a party bus. Singing, playing, having fun.
• Developing one-on-one relationships with the kids. Found ways to communicate despite the language barrier. The kids loved us being there with them.
• The smiles continue to be on the kids’ faces because of what is being done to help them.
• It is amazing what a little attention and a little love can do.
• In 2 months time love, attention, and care can really make a huge difference in the lives of these kids.

Best experience:
• Kids falling asleep in your arms.
• Playing soccer in the dump.
• Watching Alex Kursave interact with the kids.
• Watching interaction with the kids with 9 year old Elizabeth Whitt.
• Bus rides! Music, running, no rules.

Experience with fellow Journeyers
• Everyone warmed up to each other and became so close.
• Everyone was willing to work together.
• Wonderful sense of community.
• Relationships that created a bond.

What did God teach you?
• Showed that we are really helping people.
• God’s love is universal.
• You can show love no matter what language you speak.
• Patience, slowing down.
• Learning to listen to God.
• Peace overcomes the clutter in our lives.
• We need to be more thankful for what we have.
• We need to be less selfish.
• Importance of relationships.
• Live is meant to be shared.
• God is working!

What would you say to people who haven’t gone?
• Drink water.
• Set aside your reservations, and trust God.
• Some people don’t want to go, but will be glad to give you money for you to go.
• It is safe, don’t worry.
• This is an opportunity to experience what God is doing in another country.

http://theepicjourney.com
http://twitter.com/theepicjourney
Listen to the panel: http://tiny.cc/vBXJz

practical purposes of poo

2009-07-23T13:12:00.000-05:00

Got this info from a video a friend of mine posted on Twitter. It is classic! And at the same time a pretty cool idea.

Watch the video: http://bit.ly/4GgEtP

Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/nrcave

A toilet made out of poop
• It has a pleasant softness to it
• It is really quite nice actually

Virginia Gardiner – Industrial Designer/Writer in London

She is developing a new waterless toilet system

In America we have a flush and forget mentality
• We love to flush the toilet
• We love to eliminate the contents of the toilet from our memory and experience as quickly as possible.
• Each flush uses one to three gallons of water.
• There are 2.6 billion people globally (40% of total population) who do not have a toilet.

She is trying to create a waterless toilet of the city that uses no energy and turns human waste into a commodity.

Compact Composting Toilet:
• She uses composting worms (worms compost things most quickly)
• Set up a wormory where she put feces on a regular basis to see how the worms would do turning it to soil.
• Poop transformed in just a few days and became invisible.

LooWatt System:
• Empty toilet with a cartridge
• Wheel the cartridge to a biodigester which produces gas
• Take the gas, and cook dinner with it
• Eat dinner, and you get really happy and you poo!
• Start process over

Our daily contribution to this planet which comes from our bodies is 2 pounds of excrement (combo of pee and poo)

Shouldn’t that excrement be put into a system where we can use it again in the most beneficial possible way?

Watch this video: http://bit.ly/4GgEtP

GO FISH PT. 3: GOD LOVED GOD GAVE WE BELIEVE WE RECEIVE

2009-07-21T14:48:00.000-05:00

GO FISH pt. 3 “Muddy Water” – Matt Johnson http://theepicjourney.com *Follow Matt and the Journey on Twitter:
(http://twitter.com/MattJohnson21) (http://twitter.com/TheEpicJourney)

2 Questions:
1. What do you need to know to become a follower of Jesus?
2. What do you need to do to become a follower of Jesus?

John 3:16 ‘For God so LOVED the world that He GAVE His one and only son that whoever BELIEVES in Him will not perish (will not be separated from God for eternity) but have (RECEIVE) eternal life (a new life, a better life with God; Christ alive in you, the hope of glory)’

2 Answers:
1. God loved, God gave
2. We believe (trust) in, We receive

“God could have tweeted that”

God did not come to chastise you, He came to rescue you.

The Bible is the story of God loving and giving and people believing and receiving.

The message of salvation is that simple.

John 3:17 ‘For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.’

None of us are separated from God because of sin. There is a solution to your sin. It has already been taken care of on the cross.

Am I gonna respond and accept it? am I gonna trust in Him?

We need to live it out and lay it out.

We need to live our lives in such a way that people see the message of the gospel in us. In how we treat each other, how we relate to one another, and how we extend grace and truth all around us. They better not see a distortion of Christianity; they better see the message of Jesus loud and clear.

We have a responsibility to share that with them and explain that to them when opportunities arise. We don’t have to have all the answers. Just tell your story, and what you have experienced.

God loved. God gave. We believe. We receive.

As a church family here is the mission: let’s make sure that if people choose to reject Christianity that they are rejecting Jesus, not some distorted message of what He is all about. God loved God gave and they can believe and receive.

Listen to this wonderfully simplistic message right here: http://tr.im/t5e4

Go Fish Pt. 2 “Sovereign God, enable me to speak your word with boldness”

2009-07-16T11:52:00.000-05:00

Go Fish Pt. 2 “Sovereign God, enable me to speak your word with boldness”
-Matt Johnson (7.12.09) http://theepicjourney.com
*Matt began with a review from Jarrod’s message last week: Check out previous blog.

Good people don’t go to heaven, forgiven people do.

Somebody has to tell you/me/us the story of Jesus; we don’t just figure it out.

Christianity is different from every other religion in that it is founded upon an event that happened in history.

Every other religion is a belief system/theology.

The event has to be explained to us in order for it to be significant to us.

Christianity is not about a teaching, it is about something that we have seen and heard and experienced for ourselves.

The disciples were eager to share their faith despite the fact that it could cost them their lives. They could not deny what they had seen and experienced. (Acts)

Why aren’t we (Christians) more eager to share the story? FEAR!

We don’t want to come across as pushy. At the end of the day, we are afraid we are going to come across the wrong way.

The disciples used to be just as scared as we were. They went from cowardly to courageous.

Acts 4:23-31
The Believers' Prayer
23On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. 25You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
" 'Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
26The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the Lord
and against his Anointed One.27Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 28They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. 29Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."
31After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

Boldness is not being loud, obnoxious and pushy. Boldness is a son who walks in a hospital room and talks to his dad about his relationship with Jesus even though his dad has never wanted to hear it before…..

Boldness is speaking up when the opportunity presents itself.

CHALLENGE: For the next 7 days when you pray your prayers, add this at the end: God enable me to speak your word with boldness.

Deal with your fear, or you will regret it!

Listen to the story Matt told about his neighbor.

Be bold, and take your shot when you get it.

Be bold because God has placed us strategically where we are for a purpose.

We might be the only ones who will ever present the Gospel of Christ to a certain someone.

We have to fish because everybody lives forever somewhere.

Unless somebody explains to us that good people don’t go to heaven, forgiven people do and Jesus died and rose again to offer that forgiveness as a free gift, people won’t get it.

God, no matter what, enable me to have enough courage to speak your word with boldness!

LISTEN TO THE MESSAGE: http://bit.ly/7obLq

Go Fish Pt. 1: To Follow Means To Fish – Jarrod Martin

2009-07-08T16:52:00.000-05:00

Go Fish Pt. 1: To Follow Means To Fish – Jarrod Martin

Mark 1:16-17 - 16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

Part of being a follower of Christ is being a fisher of men. We often take this for granted. We come to Christ usually for selfish reasons. A test to see if we are growing in faith is to see if we are becoming fishers of men. Are we telling others about our faith?

As believers we cannot have the attitude that faith is a private thing. We can’t have the thought process that it is too much work to tell people about our faith because we think they really don’t want to hear about it.

It’s not about converting people. We are not about convincing people to believe something.

Acts 4:18-20 -18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. 20For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard."

Peter and John did not have to have all the answers, but they had a story they could tell.

Acts 4: 5-10 5The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest's family. 7They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: "By what power or what name did you do this(heal)?" 8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! 9If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
JESUS rose from the dead! It’s not about theology and doctrine; it’s about the story of Jesus!

If you can find a way to tell your faith story just like a good fish story you’ve got it made. All we want to do is show people what we have seen and heard Jesus do in our lives and the lives of others.

Listen to this message by clicking this link: http://tr.im/rsG6

http://theepicjourney.com

ONE PRAYER WEEK 4 ANDY STANLEY GOD IS IN CONTROL (aka Nothing New)

2009-06-30T14:49:00.000-05:00

Andy Stanley One Prayer Week 4 “God is in Control”
*Message 1 ‘Nothing New’ from Andy’s “He’s Still* Got the Whole World in His Hands” Series

The Upper Room – Disciples celebrate Passover with Jesus. Passover was a remembrance meal where the Jews would remember what happened years ago when the Israelites were in Egyptian slavery and were having their last meal before the next morning when they all would walk out of Egypt. All they had known for over 400 years was slavery. After 400 years worth of prayer, God sent them Moses who said “tomorrow we are leaving.” The Angel of Death passed over Egypt and killed the first born from every family who did not have the blood of a lamb on their door post. The Israelites took Moses’ words true and did what he said and they were delivered, left Egypt and headed for the Promised Land. So, 1400 years later (things were not going well), Jesus and The Disciples gathered for the Passover (Last Supper): Mark 14:17-30: 17When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, "I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me—one who is eating with me." 19They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, "Surely not I?" 20"It is one of the Twelve," he replied, "one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born." 22While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body." 23Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it. 24"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. 25"I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God." 26When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 27"You will all fall away," Jesus told them, "for it is written:
" 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. 28But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee." 29Peter declared, "Even if all fall away, I will not." 30"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times."
Can you trust God and can you maintain faith in Him, when there is absolutely now evidence of His activity in your life? Our answer to that question will determine our response to the continuing uncertainty in our lives.
If you could ask the Disciples when the darkest moment was when they followed Jesus. Answer probably would be at the Last Supper. All 12 ended up betraying Him, one of them 3 times, and then they watched Jesus be tried and killed. But, those very same hours, when it seemed as if God was inactive and doing the least, in those darkest hours God was actually doing the most. The darkest hours were the epicenter of the salvation of mankind. In the moment it looked like a lost cause, but in reality it was the time that people now look back on to see God’s goodness and grace.
God seems to take broken things, and do amazing work.

God seems to wait until the last moment to do His amazing work.

God shows up in His timing, not the way we choose.

The most amazing works of God are often times launched during time of personal or national brokenness.

Will we maintain faith when we cannot see His hand?

Now more than ever, The Bible is the place to go.

It was birthed during times of extraordinary darkness and extraordinary uncertainty.

It allows us to embrace uncertainty with the certainty of knowing that God is still in control.

Although life is uncertain, God is not uncertain. He still has the world in His hands.

YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE STORY HE TELLS AT THE END OF THE MESSAGE. IT GIVES ME CHILLS……..

“and we know, that in all things God works to the benefit of those who love him” ……but sometimes it takes Him a while.

LISTEN TO THIS MESSAGE NOW!
HERE: http://tiny.cc/Y1GTC

ONE PRAYER Week 3 God Is Here by Perry Noble

2009-06-24T13:03:00.000-05:00

ONE PRAYER WEEK 3 Perry Noble “God is Here”

If we could wrap our minds around this concept (Matthew 28:20) then the enemy wouldn’t be allowed to steal our joy as much as he steals our joy and we would walk in the victory that Jesus provided.

The last words that Jesus said: Matthew 28:20 “And surely I am with you always till the very end of the age”

God is here, He is not somewhere out there.

God is as real as the person sitting next to you.

3 ways to wrap our minds around the concept that God is always with us:

1. The Life of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John).
Jesus came here! He was here for 33 years. He is a model for us of how we should be living life. Jesus lived a supernatural life (the virgin birth, Jesus lived a perfect sinless life, Jesus did miracles, Jesus came back from the dead). Jesus said in John 5:30: “By myself I can do nothing. I judge only as I hear and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself, but Him who sent me.” The key to a supernatural life is to try to stop doing it by yourself, listen to God, do what He says, and go all out to live a life that pleases Him. That’s what Jesus modeled. If we make it our goal to live a life that completely pleases Jesus, it is incredibly hard to forget the fact that He is with us when we are putting our eyes on Him everyday. If we forget He is with us, it’s because we have taken our eyes off of Him. Jesus wants us to repeat His words, because the world needs more of Jesus. We need to be obsessed with learning to repeat Him. Just do what God tells you to do. The life of Jesus is a reminder that He is always with us!

2. The Death of Jesus
If we ever think that God has forgotten us, we just need to remember the death of Jesus. When God is separated from us, it breaks His heart. Our sinfulness and God’s holiness could not co-exist. 2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” We get obsessed with who we used to be instead of who God created us to be. The death of Jesus is a reminder that He is with us and He is not obsessed with who we used to be. If you are a child of God, he has cleaned up your mess and doesn’t even think about it anymore. He has removed it as far as the east is from the west. If you ever doubt that God is with you, all you have to do is look at the cross.

3. The Victory of Jesus
RUN UP THE SCORE ON THE ENEMY! As followers of Jesus, we win! 1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We have been given victory through Jesus! Sometimes we have to experience pain to understand His provision. Sometimes we have to go through the valley of the shadow of death to fully understand that He is the author of life. Your circumstances don’t rein over you, God, Jesus in you, actually reigns over your circumstances. 2000 years ago on a Friday afternoon, it all seemed to be falling part. When it seemed like God was the most out of control, He arranged those very circumstances to prove to the world that He was and is in control. We can’t have a resurrection without a crucifixion. And the crucifixion led to the resurrection. Some of us may feel like we are being crucified right now but the reason you are going through that is because on the other end God is going to achieve maximum glory out of your pain. It may feel like Friday, but Sunday’s coming. 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 “7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 “16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” The victory of Jesus is there because He won on the cross! The Holy Spirit lives in us, the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead! RUN UP THE SCORE!

“I’ve never seen the devil but I’m willing to bet that if we could see him we would not fear him as much because I bet that Jesus put a cross on his forehead to prove to the world that he messed with the wrong person. If the one who put a cross on the Devil’s forehead lives in us, then we can conquer and overcome anything that the enemy throws at us. We have the victory of Jesus inside of us and if we walk in victory rather than think we are fighting for victory we will understand that He is with us because He is in us and we win”

*Listen to Perry Noble’s message: http://tinyurl.com/bv3dfb

Perry’s website: http://www.perrynoble.com/
http://www.newspring.cc/
The End

God is Great

2009-06-16T13:34:00.000-05:00

Most of what we need to know about God we already know, we just have to remember it.

God is great, God is good.

Psalm 62:11-12

“One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard. That you o God are strong and that you o Lord are loving.”

If God only had all the power but bad intentions, we should be terrified of Him.

If God is great, but not good, we should fear for our lives.

God is not only powerful, He has great intentions.

Our God is so great that when Moses asked Him in Exodus 14, what should I call you, he said “I am who I am” or “I am that I am” or “Whatever you need, that’s what I am”

God is….whatever you need Him to be!

He is a provider, rescuer, healer, and guider.

Some of the things that freak us out cause us to doubt our God

How big is your problem compared to how big your God is?

Our God is a great big God!

Eph. 3:20
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us”

God has been really good to us.

Sometimes our present struggles seem to overwhelm our perspective of God’s past faithfulness.

God has been good to you. You are alive and breathing

Lamentations 3:21-23
21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

God has good intentions toward His children.

Our God is so good, He wants better for us than we want for ourselves.

God doesn’t take things away from us, He is making room for bigger and better things for us.

God saved us, forgave us of our sins…..God has been good to us.

The Cross settled his goodness once and for all!

Thank God for his goodness in the middle of our struggles.

When waves of doubt swell up in us, we need to go back and rehearse the past faithfulness of God so we will have complete confidence in His future ability.

God has been with us in the past and He will be in the future.

Listen to this message right now! Click on this link: http://tiny.cc/Gopdr

Visit the pastors website: http://www.stevenfurtick.com/

ONE PRAYER: GOD IS LOVE

2009-06-10T15:09:00.000-05:00

ONE PRAYER http://2009.oneprayer.com/
• The Epic Journey (http://twitter.com/TheEpicJourney) joined along with 1,790 other churches around the world to reach the world with the power of God’s love.
• On Sunday, Craig Groeschel started the month long series off with a message entitled “God is Love.”
• Listen to the message right here: http://tinyurl.com/mngla6

God Loves You! It is easy for me to see how God could love you, but as bad as I am, it is hard for me to see that God loves me.

2 Questions:

1. Why would God love someone as bad as me?
• Job 42: 5-6 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."
• 1 Corinthians 15:9 9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

2. Why would God love someone so insignificant?
• Exodus 3:11 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?"
• 1 Chronicles 29:14 "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”

*Love is not just something that God does; love is something that God is.*
**************************GOD IS LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*********************

*God’s Love covers your sins!
• 1 Peter 4:8 - Love covers a multitude of sins.
• Titus 3: 4-5 - 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit
• When you start to feel insignificant, remember God’s love is what makes us significant. It is His love that makes you who He wants you to be.
• Jeremiah 31:3 - 3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:
"I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”

• How could God care about me, there are so many of us?

• 2 stories from Luke 15
o Women with 10 coins loses one
o Man with 2 sons loses one
o Man with 100 sheep loses one
o Despite having more coins, another son, and 99 other sheep, these people did everything they could to find the other ONE.

• Even though there are 6 billion people in the world, maybe YOU are the ONE.

• GOD IS LOVE, AND MAYBE YOU ARE THE ONE HE IS PERSUING

• John 3:16 - 16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

My Take
Wow, this guy is intense. I love his emotion and command. What a great speaker. If you are just reading this and have not listened to it, you have to listen to it. Just click on this link: http://tinyurl.com/mngla6 . The discussion about his 6 kids at the end is very powerful. I love the way he relates it to God’s love for us. It makes us see how God can love you and love me both on a very personal level. As a teacher to be, I have had teaching experiences that show this type of love. You get to know your students and you just end up loving them. And you don’t love some more than others, you have a deep love and care for each one in a different, but uniquely similar way. God has so many children and sometimes I think God has more important things to take care of than to worry about my little problems. I have it really good. Some of God’s children don’t have it so good. I think, I should not even ask God for these things when he has already given me so much compared to what some of His other children have. But, his love covers us all. He can and does love all of us equally at the same time. God is love and His love is for all of us who choose to accept it.
The story about the little girl at the end is a great way to wrap the message up. Good Stuff! Maybe we aren’t listening close enough!

This week(end) in sports!

2009-06-05T14:19:00.000-05:00

Well, we have a big sports weekend ahead of us. I for one am looking forward to it! Let's start with the Belmont.
*While we are not looking at a triple crown possibility, this is a compelling race because Mine That Bird won the Derby, finished 2nd in the Preakness, and now is the favorite for this race. Jockey Calvin Borel has guaranteed a win in this race. He rode MTB to the KY Derby victory, rode Rachel Alexandra to victory in Maryland, and now is back on MTB at Belmont. MTB should win this race, but you never know. That's what makes the Belmont worth watching this year. Borel goes for his own personal triple crown, and MTB tries to take 2 out of the 3 jewels, while finishing second in the other one. MTB could go from a horse who some think shouldn't have even been in the Derby (before the actual race) to a legendary horse who took 2 of the 3 crowned jewels. I think this horse is for real and will win on Saturday. If only the Belmont would have just been a little longer of a race, we could be looking at a triple crown winner, but that's why it is racing. It's tough to win. That's why no horse has won the triple crown in over 30 years. It's racing and anything can and will happen. Watch and see if Mine That Bird can win the Belmont on ABC 5/4 est on Saturday afternoon.
*Now on to the Memphis scandal. Apparently Derrick Rose, and now Robert Dozier both had stand-ins to take their SAT for them. The question I have is will this come back on Coach Cal at Kentucky. The Wildcats are looking at a very promising season, but this could throw things for a loop.
*How about the French Open. This is history people. Roger Federer is trying to tie Pete Sampras with 14 career Grand Slam titles. He won today in dramatic fashion, and now he has to face the man who took Nadal down, Soderling. Will he finally be able to win at the French, or will this Nadal killer take him down? I say go Roger, I hope you do it!
*The NBA Finals got underway last night, and the Lakers blew the Magic out. Is there any hope for the Magic in this series? I think there is. They figure to lose the first two in L.A. and then they have to get down to business in Orlando for games 3 and 4. I think L.A. will win, but I think Orlando will bounce back and make it a 6 or 7 game series.
*The Stanley Cup Final got a little more interesting last night when Pittsburgh tied the series at 2. I would love to see the Pens get the Cup, but I still think it will be Detroit in 6. I hope I am wrong.
*Now, on to NASCAR. Double-file restarts begin this weekend in Pocono. I think this should help with the boring races we have been having lately. Sure, Dover last week was great with Johnson and Stewart battling it out in the end, but the majority of the races have a boredom factor to them. This 2-file restart will help with that. No more of the lap down cars starting on the inside. The lapers will be where they belong, behind the leaders. This will be interesting. Just look at the All-Star race a few weeks ago. That double-file last 10 laps was great. The rest of the race was a bore. That's why this 2-file restart is so important. It will make the races less boring! We will see what happens Sunday at Pocono. Pocono is generally a very boring race so this is a great place to implement the double file restarts, and should help improve the race!

Great weekend in sports! I hope you tune in!

SAVE THE SUMMER

2009-06-01T14:47:00.000-05:00

SAVE THE SUMMER - 5.31.09
• Matt spoke on the topic of being a good Samaritan over the summer.
• This is a one part sermon, the last one for Matt until July.
• He has the month of June off as vacation time.
• Does he deserve a whole month off? Let me know what you think! I vote yes.
• Anyway, here is a sermon outline and at the end, my take.

What do you plan on doing this summer?
• Vacations, projects, fun stuff, relaxing, events, weddings
• Cash in on our extra time and money

We look forward to summer because we have a lot of extra!
• Time, money, vacation

There is nothing wrong with that. We can use some of that extra time and money for us. But, everything revolves around us. We think the summer is ours. Our time to have fun. What if we just take a portion of the extra time and money we have this summer to help someone else have a great summer. Make not only memories this summer, but make a mark!

How can we make a lasting difference in the lives of others this summer?

For us to be able to take the next 2-3 months to serve other people, that will not require us to change a lot of our plans and time (some but not a lot), but it will require us to change our perspective.

The Good Samaritan
• Some religious folks who didn’t care a lot for Jesus hired a lawyer to follow Jesus around to try to catch Jesus saying something that they could use to discredit Him.
Luke 10:25-37 (New International Version)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
• The lawyer thinks that he has heard Jesus say something that they can use to bring Him down.
• A lawyer never asks a question he doesn’t already know the answer to.
• Jesus turns it around on him.

26"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
• Jesus knows the expert in the law already knows the answer.
• The lawyer quotes back to Jesus what Jesus had already replied in the past

27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
• The lawyer quoted this out of Deuteronomy and Leviticus
28"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
• Jesus is like OK you got it. So Jesus is ready to go back to what he was previously doing before the lawyer spoke to Him, but…..
29But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
• The lawyer thought he had Jesus with this one. He thought he would get Jesus to give a narrow answer that would narrow down specific people, or a group of people. But Jesus replies with a story instead of directly answering his question.
30In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
• A priest was at the top of the food chain in that culture.
• A priest was powerful, wealthy, and educated.
• A very religious guy who, if anyone, should know what it means to love God and love people.
• Closer to God than anyone, but when he sees the man, he walks to the other side and goes on.
• The priest found a way in his mind to convince himself and justify to himself that he didn’t need to stop and help this guy.
• He came up with excuses in his head.
32So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
• A Levite was right next to the priest: educated, religious
• He did the same thing as the priest: justified and convinced himself not to stop.
• The priest and the Levite were good guys who figured out how to play the mental games that that was not a need that they needed to meet. It was better for someone else to do it. This is kind of what we do.
33But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
• The Jewish people Jesus was talking to hated Samaritans. They couldn’t stand them; they wouldn’t talk to them, interact with them, or even be with them.
• The Samaritan put himself in that man’s shoes and helped him.
34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.
• This was dangerous for the Samaritan to do.
• It was expensive. Oil and wine weren’t cheap.
35The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
• The Samaritan went to great lengths, spend a lot of money, and put himself at risk to help this poor, beaten man.
36"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
37The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
• Quit talking about it, just go love God and love people. When there is a need that needs met, meet it. Don’t worry about the formalities of who is my neighbor, just help and meet needs that need met.
• We are masters at being like the priest and the Levite. We see situations like this and do the exact thing. We make excuses and justifications in our heads to not help.
• Just be a good neighbor. Don’t worry about expectations. If there is a need, just be a good neighbor. The Samaritan didn’t worry that since he was giving money to take care of the beaten man, that the man would later come back and want more money from him. He just met the need, no questions asked.
• Just helping one person will make a big difference for that person.
• As we are having our fun this summer, we are going to have a lot of opportunities to meet the needs of others.
• Say “I am going to take some of what God has blessed me with and use it to serve others.” Just a little slice of our time and money to not only make memories but make a mark in the lives of others.
• Challenge to the church: Don’t spend the entire summer focused on us, but to spend this summer focused on other people. Don’t just chase after fun but to save this summer by serving somebody.
• What does that look like: Take some money and give it to a friend who needs it more than you do. Put it in their mailbox. Do it week after week. Use your time to volunteer in the community. Help some mom with her kids a couple times a week. Help with the church.
• GIVE, GIVE, GIVE instead of TAKE, TAKE, TAKE.
• Quit being selfish with your time and money and give some of it to meet others needs.
• Invite a friend to church!
• So, are we going to be the Levite/priest or the Samaritan this summer?
• Don’t just chase fun, SAVE THIS SUMMER BY SERVING SOMEONE!

Listen to the sermon:
http://tinyurl.com/m9purr

My Take:
Well, this reminds me so much of seeing a guy broke down on the road and just driving on by. We say “oh, someone else will stop. I probably couldn’t help anyway. What if it is a setup. I could get hurt or killed. I don’t have time. If I stop, this will mess up my schedule.” What we are doing is the exact thing that the priest and Levite did. We are justifying and convincing ourselves that we don’t need to stop. I did it just the other day. Drove right by a guy with his hood up. I’m no mechanic, but I could have at least stopped and offered him a phone call, a ride, a few bucks. I could have met a need instead of meeting my own needs and passing on by and going on with my day. I never thought to put myself in his shoes. What if I was broke down. I can barely change a flat tire, let alone fix anything. What if I forgot my cell phone that day. What if I ran out of gas. I would love for a ‘good Samaritan’ to stop by and help. Don’t over analyze the situation. Stop and serve and meet a need and the Lord will take care of the rest.

passion.emotion.victory

2009-05-27T15:18:00.000-05:00

On April 17, 2009, Helio Castroneves was acquitted of tax evasion. He was staring down up to six years in prison if found guilty. Can you imagine the whirlwind of emotion that would go through your head if you thought you were about to lose your freedom? Freedom isn't something we often think about. We have it, and we take it for granted. Once something happens that puts that freedom in jeopardy, everything changes.

Racing was the last thing on Helio's mind just weeks ago. All he cared about was his freedom. He was granted his freedom, or as he says "his life back" on April 17th. Just 37 days after he got his life back, he got back to his "regular" life driving race cars at over 200 miles per hour. It was the Indy 500. The biggest race of them all. Everyone knows the Indy 50o. People who hate racing know the Indy 500. It's that big of a deal. For an open wheel racer, it is the ultimate. Helio had previously reached that pinnacle twice, in 2001 and 2002. Now, after his life took turns that he never would have imagined, he was back at the wheel in the greatest race of them all.

He won. 37 days ago he didn't even plan on being in the race. He just hoped to be able to live his own life, free from the bondage of prison. On Sunday, he once again reached the absolute top. In our world it would be like getting to the point in our careers that we had always wanted to be. Achieving the ultimate goal that we had always set out to achieve.

Things were different this time for Helio in victory lane. He had been there twice before, but never under this circumstance. The only reason I have said what I have said to this point is because of this: the passion, the raw emotion that comes out of this man in his post race interview is just amazing. Check it out on this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlrtlH8U3Yc. If you don't want to watch it all, just forward to the 3:15 mark. The passion that this guy has for his fans is inspiring. The arms up with fists clutched moving them back and forth is victory at its best. You can not beat raw emotion. He thanked the people in his life and his fans for giving him his life back.

This victory was more than just about winning a race. Helio was also celebrating his life, his freedom. It made me think about regular ol' folks like us. We should celebrate like this. We should celebrate with our friends when great things happen to us. Our friends are our fans. We shouldn't have to almost have our freedom taken away to celebrate having it. We need to celebrate the everyday victories in life. When something great happens, party. Be thankful for it. Celebrate like you just won the Indy 500 because in your life, it might just be as big. Celebrate your life. Celebrate your success. Celebrate that job promotion. Celebrate with you friends when great things happen to them. Celebrate with your friend when he realizes that his loved one is going to be okay. Celebrate with your friend when she gets out of rehab and finally realizes that she can stop. Celebrate with your husband when he finally gets the respect and honor that you have always known he deserves. Celebrate with your wife when she realizes that everything is going to be okay! We all make each others life's happen. Without our friends/fans, where would we be? I think we should not only be there for our friends when life is kicking their butts, but also when the opposite happens. Celebrate the big victories in life. Celebrate the small victories in life. Celebrate having a life. Just celebrate! It's okay to do it. You don't have to win the Indy 500 to have a big party. Celebrate what you are thankful for as if it might not always be that way because, it won't always be that way. As you know, life is full of ups and downs. We all have bad things that happen to us. But at the end of those bad things, we need to celebrate coming through on the other side. I guarantee you when Helio thought he could loose his freedom, he wasn't thinking about the bad days in his life. He was just thankful for having a life and being free to do with it as he pleased. That's why you see the passion, the emotion, the relief in him after the race.

Look, maybe a few months ago you were diagnosed with cancer. Maybe yesterday you found out that the cancer is gone. Maybe today you realized that you were going to be a grandpa and you felt like celebrating because you were going to be able to be part of your grandchild's life. CELEBRATE. That is a pretty drastic example of bad going into good. It doesn't have to be that drastic to celebrate. It could be something as little as getting an A on a test, passing a physical, or finally get getting the lawn mowed.

All I am saying is celebrate the life that has been given to you because who knows when it will be gone or taken away.

Squeeze pt. 3 of 3: Squeeze Happens

2009-05-27T13:49:00.000-05:00

Pain and suffering: We want to avoid it but sometimes we intentionally choose to go through it because we think what will come out on the other side will be worth it.
*****BODY PIERCING AND TATTOOS
*****WORKING OUT/EXERCISE

-We shouldn't be surprised when bad things happen because sometimes we bring it on ourselves!!!

-God does not allow bad things to happen to us in order to benefit someone else. We sometimes choose to believe that way in order to provide context to the situation.

-We will never find answers by looking in, but instead by looking up.

*3 Big Dots that God gives us to understand the pain and suffering in our lives: In the beginning, in the meantime and in the end.

*ROMANS 8:18-32

*In the beginning - Romans 8:18-21
- 18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

*BAD THINGS ARE HAPPENING BECAUSE WE LIVE IN A BROKEN WORLD; A SIN INFESTED WORLD*

*In the meantime - (ROMANS 8:22-25) 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

- Whenever you choose to become a follower of Jesus, God's spirit is instantly brought in to you. He has not yet changed our bodies. But one day, if we hold on, we will experience the redemption of not only our minds, hearts and souls, but also our bodies.

- In the meantime, we have to live in a broken body in a broken world.

- Whenever life squeezes you, look ahead. Go to God for hope to continue on.

*(ROMANS 8:26-27) 26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

- God understands that as humans, we are weak and we need help.

- One day we all will go through something so painful that we will get down on our knees and the words just won't come because we are in so much pain.

- It's OK to not know what to say, because God is there and he will know what we need. He gives us the words even when we can't communicate or think them.

- We don't have to worry about today or tomorrow. God is going to give us strength.

- Strength for today, bright hope for tomorrow.

*(ROMANS 8:28-32) 28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

- Good things will happen in the midst of painful situations. God is present in the midst of painful situations.

- God feels our pain because He has seen it for Himself. Remember the Cross!

- God has the power over sin, sorrow and death.

- Jesus died on the cross; He knows, sees, feels and understands our pain, because
He has been there Himself.

- He will be with us in the meantime, and one day in the end He will make everything new.

- That truth doesn't make the pain go away, but it makes it easier to endure!

- Why doesn't God just end all of the pain now? Because it would also end peoples opportunity to enter into a relationship with Him. God is patient. He doesn't want
people to live separated from Him.

- God is with us, and He will give us the strength for today, and we can hold on to the hope for tomorrow.

- If we understand this, we will realize that your suffering is the shortest route to God. In our pain, we will discouver His presence and come to know Him in a way we never have before.

- In the beginning, sin entered the world. In the end, it is going to be removed from the world. But in the meantime, God really is with us. Remembering that is what brings hope!

LISTEN TO THE SERMON FOR YOURSELF:

http://tinyurl.com/r37ked

2009-05-20T13:38:00.001-05:00

SQUEEZE pt. 2: One Squeeze at a Time (5.17.09) [do the next right thing]

*Matt continued his Squeeze series Sunday, with part 2 of 3.

*He started off by asking a question that many of us struggle with: Is God Here and Does He Even Care?

*Is God even present in the middle of our difficulties?

REAL-LIFE APPLICATION TO BIBLE STORY : GENESIS 37:23-28, 39:1-23
* Before Matt proceeded into the Bible, he gave a little background on the life of Joseph:
o Abraham-------Isaac--------Jacob------------12 Sons (one was Joseph)
o Jacob played favorites and Joseph was his chosen one. He gave Joseph a multi-colored coat so everyone would know who Jacob’s fav was.
o Joseph had dreams where he was the head man and his brothers were zeros who bowed down to him.
o Joseph thought the dreams were coming from God and he started treating his brothers as if his dreams were reality.
o His brothers, obviously, were not too fond of Joseph.
o One day, Jacob sent Joseph out to look for his brothers who were away. The brothers saw him coming from a distance and thought “now is our chance to get (kill) him!”
o The story picks up at Gen 37:23-28
23 When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off his robe, the robe of many colors that he had on. 24 Then they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat a meal. They looked up, and there was a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic gum, balsam, and resin, going down to Egypt.
26 Then Judah said to his brothers, "What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him, for he is our brother, our [own] flesh." His brothers agreed. 28 When Midianite traders passed by, they pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took Joseph to Egypt.
* Joseph was only 17 years old when this occurred.
* He was sold to be a slave for 20 pieces of silver.
* All of his special treatment his father had given him was suddenly gone and his life was changing in an instant.
* What motivation does he have to continue to believe that God is with him?
*Moving now to Genesis 39:1-6
• THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH!
1 Now Joseph had been taken to Egypt. An Egyptian [named] Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites (A) who had brought him there. 2 The LORD was with Joseph, (B) and he became a successful man, serving [a] in the household of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made everything he did successful, (C) 4 Joseph found favor in his master's sight (D) and became his personal attendant. Potiphar also put him in charge of his household and placed all that he owned under his authority. [b] 5 From the time that he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house because of Joseph. (E) The LORD's blessing was on all that he owned, in his house and in his fields. 6 He left all that he owned under Joseph's authority; [c] he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
• Notice that Joseph found favor in his master’s eyes and became his personal attendant!
• Joseph was thinking “since I am here, I might as well do the right thing and be the best slave I can be.”
• Also notice that the Lord blessed the Egyptian household because of Joseph and the Egyptians didn’t even believe in Christ!
• Joseph never whined and complained “why me, why me….” He kept doing the next right thing because he knew God was with him.

*Genesis 39: 7-10
• THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH!
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome. 7 After some time his master's wife looked longingly at Joseph and said, "Sleep with me."
8 But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Look, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has put all that he owns under my authority. 9 No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?"
10 Although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her.
• So, Joseph was tempted day after day after day by this woman and he continued to do the next right thing and tell her no.
• Joseph refused to sleep with her because his master had been so good to him and withheld nothing from him.
• Joseph eventually refused to even be in the same room with the woman, and she progressively got more and more upset.
• So……Genesis 39:11-18
11 One day Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants was there. 12 She grabbed him by his garment and said, "Sleep with me!" But leaving his garment in her hand, he escaped and ran outside. 13 When she realized that he had left his garment with her and had run outside, 14 she called the household servants. "Look," she said to them, "my husband brought a Hebrew man to us to make fun of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, and I screamed as loud as I could. 15 When he heard me screaming for help, he left his garment with me and ran outside."
16 She put Joseph's garment beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him the same story: "The Hebrew slave you brought to us came to sleep with me, 18 but when I screamed for help, he left his garment with me and ran outside."
*Genesis 39:19-23
• THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH!
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him—"These are the things your slave did to me"—he was furious 20 and had him thrown into prison, where the king's prisoners were confined. So Joseph was there in prison.
Joseph in Prison
21 But the LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him. He granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. 22 The warden put all the prisoners who were in the prison under Joseph's authority, and he was responsible for everything that was done there. 23 The warden did not bother with anything under Joseph's authority, because the LORD was with him, and the LORD made everything that he did successful.
*Joseph believed!
* Joseph really believed that God was with him despite all the bad things that were happening to him.
* Notice that last verse: The Lord was with him and made everything that he did successful. That is amazing. Although Joseph might not have always been in the best of situations, (he was obviously being squeezed) he still believed God was with him and he continued to do the next right thing.
* THE REST OF THE STORY: After 13 years of being a slave/prisoner, in 1 day, he went from being head of prisoners, to being 2nd in command over all of Egypt!
* God had a plan, and Joseph believed even when life was squeezing him. He had no idea what God’s plan for him was, but he knew there was one and he knew that God was always with him so he continued to do the next right thing.
* God was able to use Joseph because he kept believing and doing the next right thing even when he was being squeezed!
*Daily Life Application
o Our job, just like Joseph’s, is to do the next right thing because God is with us.
o Do the next right thing as if you are certain God is with you, because He is!
o God gives us the strength to make it through the day.
o We need to take life one day at a time, one squeeze at a time.
o God is preparing us to impact the lives of people all around us!
o Holding onto the truth that God is there gives you hope, strength, and wisdom.
o We have to trust that God is with us even when we can’t see it.
o WHEN WE DO THE VERY THING WE LEAST FEEL LIKE DOING, WE HAVE OUR GREATEST VICTORIES OVER SATAN!

Listen to the sermon:

http://tiny.cc/BDKrm

Squeeze pt 1 sermon from 5.10.09:

http://tiny.cc/LFIUv

ORANGE

2009-05-18T14:28:00.000-05:00

theorangeconference.com

I attended the Orange Conference in Duluth, GA a few weeks ago. Click on the link above to find out more about what it is if you don’t know. It was amazing. The main sessions were the best. They featured speakers such as Andy Stanley, Francis Chan, Perry Noble, Lanny Donoho, Reggie Joyner and others. The praise and worship was amazing with talents such as Steve Fee, Phil Wickham, and Kristian Stanfill performing. If you get a chance to check out Francis Chan do so. He was amazing and his message was one of the best I have ever heard. Here is a link to a short clip of his (not from the conference, just something I randomly found) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITioPFM5GlY He has a book out called “Crazy Love” that I am going to read soon, and I will let you know about it after I read it.

Along with the main sessions, I went to 4 breakout sessions. Some were better than others, but here is what I got out of them.

ORANGE BREAKouts

What Happens When Volunteers Go Orange?

This was about getting parents involved with what goes on with their child/children at their church’s children’s ministry.

* Four things that would change in children’s ministry if parents got SERIOUS about their ROLE spiritually:

1. We would start connecting with parents EARLIER to clarify their ROLE right from the start.

o Help them to IMAGINE the end according to Deuteronomy 6: 4-6 (⁴ "Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ⁶ These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.) Encourage parents to focus their PRIORITIES on what MATTERS most. Share how the church can PARTNER with them in their ROLE.

After their child is BORN, recruiting PARENTS to serve in our ministry would be seen totally DIFFIRENT than it is now.

*Serving would be viewed as free TRAINING for their role at home. Serving would make it possible for parents to KNOW what was presented on SUNDAY so the LEARNING could go on all week long.

3. Ministry environments would be BETTER resourced as PARENTS saw the needs FIRST hand.

*RENTERS don’t paint, don’t decorate, don’t WORRY about how the carpet looks…but OWNERS do. If parents understand the SIGNIFICANCE of the Sunday morning experience as they see it first hand, they are going to start acting like OWNERS.

* This generation of CHILDREN is known as the CHOSEN children, due to the fact that they have many resources at their disposal (technology).

4. Huge WINS would occur as two INFLUENCES combine to make a BIGGER impact.

* VOLUNTEERS would be convinced of the IMPORTANCE of their ROLE. They would take it SERIOUSLY, yet feel RELIEVED that they are not responsible for these children spiritually.

* PARENTS would be convinced of the IMPORTANCE of their role, but would feel RELIEVED that they don’t have to parent alone.

HUGE win for the kids. Both the parent and the SMALL GROUP LEADER could be working on the same FAITH skills at the same time so the learning DOUBLES in impact. Kids would take spiritual matters more seriously, because mom and dad think it’s IMPORTANT too.

Death By Ministry

The title of this breakout was a little strange based on what the breakout was about. It should have been titled “emotional health” because that is what it was about.

Emotional Healthy Person – someone who has discovered the love of God and is recovering from any pain in their past.

*Emotional health is hard and takes time

Emotional Health is Hard (components)

Requires looking inside
Vulnerability and authenticity produce raw feelings
Not many people celebrate this kind of work
The results aren’t instant
You’re human

Emotional health takes time

Patience is a must
Emotional health can be circular v. linear
Old wounds may need to be dug up or healed
You aren’t the only driver moving your life towards emotional health
You’re human

The Promise

Emotional Health is possible and leads us to freedom and wholeness.
2 Peter 1:3
Growth in the Faith
³ For His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.

Roadsigns to Emotional Collapse

Emotional Imposture – person who is fake, not compassionate, says ‘oh I’ve been there’ but really has no clue how you feel.
Emotional Corpse – a person who does not feel anymore; emotionally desensitized.
Emotional Faucet – people who have control issues; go from hot to cold; can turn emotions on/off at will.
Emotional Toxin – a bipolar-like person; they are either really high or really low.
Emotional Oblivion – a person who has a sense of confusion. They know they can feel, but they don’t know where the emotion is coming from. They are unable to locate the source.
The speaker asked us to identify which one the previous we struggle with at times. I identify with the emotional corpse. Sometimes, with all the hate and bad things that happen in life and in the world, I just get numb to it all. If we don’t stay focused on Jesus and the ultimate goal, then we just stop feeling.

Good Health Roadsigns

Discovery of the love of God again thru prayer, forgiveness and acceptance
Recover from the pain of the past. Do this with a trusted guide/friend
Embracing your story. Embrace the author, plot, unique characters and that you are the co-author.

Learning to Live with a Limp

Living with a limp is fully embracing our unique limits. When we accept our humanity and become aware of our sinfulness, we can then live out of an authentic deep need for Jesus.

Moving Forward

be honest with God
be aware of yourself
be vulnerable with others

NERVE TO SERVE

This breakout was about getting the children in our children’s ministry to get out there and serve in the community and the world; to have the heart of a servant, just like Jesus. Nerve to Serve is a group that is a part of a church’s children’s ministry. The ladies who spoke broke it down like this:

WHERE THEY STARTED

They asked this question: Do the children in our ministry really understand what it means to have a servant’s heart?

WHERE THEY WENT

Matthew 20:28
“That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage."

WHAT COULD KIDS DO IN THE COMMUNITY?

The kids wanted to belong to a club that made a difference
The staff talked to kids about what Jesus was about: meeting needs, healing, etc.
They asked the kids “What does it mean to be Jesus with skin on?”
Example: Kids decided to clean church. They filled the need of the church and cleaning staff (day off).
The staff asked the kids how they felt when they were cleaning.
The kids responded really well to it. No gripping, complaining. They realized what they were doing was serving others just like Jesus did and it made them feel good. They saw that they were serving and doing the right thing.

WHAT THE CHURCH STAFF SAW (DEBREIF)

Kids came up with ideas to serve on their own. For example, starting a tutoring program.
Kids saw first hand that not everyone was as blessed as they are.
This promoted creative thinking in the kids about what could be.
They saw an organic desire to make a difference originating from the children, not the staff.
They saw excitement from the kids about meeting needs and understanding what that means.

HOW ORANGE ARE OUR SCHOOLS?

This breakout was about core essentials. It is a non-prof org started in 1998 by Reggie Joyner. Here is what it is about (coreessentials.org):

Core Essentials is a character education program, designed for grades K-5, that provides simple, straight-forward tools allowing schools to quickly incorporate character education into the curriculum.

The program provides a "value of the month" focus that encourages individual classrooms, the entire school, and every family to emphasize the same aspects of each value. Core Essentials is designed to synchronize the home and school by presenting values on which both can agree.

We believe it takes an INWARD attitude to influence OUTWARD behavior. That's what we mean by values. A value is an inward belief or attitude that affects someone's outward behavior. The values that Core Essentials emphasizes are common attitudes that every parent and teacher wants children to learn and demonstrate.

Values affect behavior by helping you . . .

treat others right
make smart decisions
maximize your potential

Core Essentials® is a non-profit organization and was begun in 1998 by concerned parents and teachers who wanted to help kids by providing quality character building resources to schools.

The first Core Essentials program was launched in partnership with Chick-fil-A® in about 24 elementary schools in the metro Atlanta area. Since that time, the number of participating schools has grown to over 1,000. By providing an affordable option to schools while delivering unparalleled quality, Core Essentials has established a strong network through local Chick-fil-A operators. Schools can order a version of the Core Essentials through local Chick-fil-A restaurants February through May 15 for the following school year. If there is not a Chick-fil-A store in your community, schools can order the Core Essentials Online program. Individuals and businesses can gift Core Essentials to a school through the Core Essentials Online Program Gift.

Core Essentials, Inc., is the parent company that develops these resources and others that encourage character in our youth.

What We Teach

Core Essentials is a simple, affordable, nine-month, downloadable character education program designed for K-5. Core Essentials provides straight-forward tools allowing schools to quickly incorporate character education into the curriculum.

· Core Essentials is the result of the combined efforts of a dedicated group of teachers and parents. These materials are designed to inspire you and equip you to teach these values so that each student will . . .
• treat others right
• make smart decisions
• maximize their potential

· The program provides a "value of the month" focus that encourages individual classrooms, the entire school and every family to emphasize the same aspects of each value. Core Essentials believes that there is a foundation for values that can be shared regardless of ethnic, religious or cultural differences.

· Our goal is that time devoted to preparation for implementation of Core Essentials be 15 minutes or less. We present a “value of the month” program instead of a “word of the week” program because children need time and space to understand character issues.

· The Core Essentials program is structured around a three-year plan that emphasizes nine different values each year, based on a nine-month school year.

Highlights from the breakout:

· 34.8 million children spend 1080 hours at school per year

· Cost is $175, which seemed relatively inexpensive to me

· Another interesting topic an elementary art teacher brought up was bringing kidstuf into the school. She went to a church that did kidstuf and thought it would be great to use in the elementary school she taught at. She talked to the powers that be, and organized it with the church to start doing kidstuf performances at the school. Naturally, terms about God/Bible had to be omitted from the performance, but the core value/concept was kept, so students still learned the important virtue, just without using “church terms.” It was wildly successful, and many other churches/schools are doing it now.

· I would love to be able to do something like that in this area. I don’t know how probable it is that we could do it, but if we have enough people at church who know people in the schools, it is possible to do something like this.

· I think it’s a great way to show character education to kids. It presents it in a fun way that kids can relate to and learn from. And, once the kids find out where they can get more of it, it will help bring kids and parents into the local church that performs kidstuf.

· I have contacted a lady in Kokomo, IN where they do this to get some info from her.

· Just and idea….but I like it!

Squeeze, pt 1 (5.10.09) What do you do when life squeezes you?

2009-05-11T15:40:00.000-05:00

Matt started a new series called Squeeze yesterday at the Journey( theepicjourney.com ).

-Reason for the Series: To try to help us answer the whys and whats in our lives.

-Pt. 1 What Do You Do When Life Squeezes You?

*James 1:1-4

--Times are tough and it is easy to get down, but there is something amazing happening right now that God is doing in your life. You can't see it now, but He is in the middle of bringing something incredibly good out of the difficult times in your life.

--Tough times (when our faith is tested) help us grow and persevere and develop patience.

--We are interested mostly in being happy. God is mostly interested in making us Holy. For us, it's about developing comfort, for Him, its about developing character. He wants to develop in us the character of Jesus Christ.

--We will go through some of the same tough times Jesus did, and we are being prepared for those times.

--We need to learn a lesson instead of just getting the pressure relieved in our lives.

--How we respond to the pressures in life makes all the difference.

--There is a purpose/plan behind all of the problems. Not all prayers are always answered because God has a different plan.

*James 1:5

--How do we hold on to the perspective that God is using the trials in our lives to fulfill His purpose?

--We have to have wisdom. If we lack it, we should ask God for it and it will be given to you.

--We have to lean hard into God and recognize that He is always with us.

--Everything changes when we see life from God's perspective.

--Our point of view: everything seems hopeless. God's point of view: it is an opportunity to quit worrying and life by faith. Quit trusting in us, and depend on Him.

--God strategically places people and events in our lives.

--When we begin to see from God's point of view, everything changes.

--Seeing life from His point of view does not make life easy or take the pain away, but it gives you the strength and the hope to endure.

--PRAY FOR WISDOM early and often!

--God gives generous to all without finding fault!

--You will have patience, perseverance, and become mature and complete, not lacking anything!

Listen to it!:http://tiny.cc/PD1sp

30 Days to Live (4 of 4): Where do you stand with God?

2009-05-04T13:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Matt concluded the 30 Days to Live series by discussing where we stand with God. He talked about how a lot of people wonder if they are doing enough to spend eternity in Heaven. Matt touched on how good/religious people don't go to heaven just because they are good/religious. Matt talked about a passage in the Bible where Nicodemus was wondering the same thing: How do I get into Heaven?

Here's what Jesus had to say about the topic:

John 3: 1-7

¹ There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to Him at night and said, "Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher, for no one could perform these signs You do unless God were with him." ³ Jesus replied, " I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." ⁴ "But how can anyone be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked Him. "Can he enter his mother's womb a second time and be born?" ⁵ Jesus answered, " I assure you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again.

John 3: 14-17

¹⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵ so that everyone who believes in Him will have eternal life. ¹⁶ "For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

So, just as the snake was raised up, Jesus was raised on the cross, and when you believe that , you will have eternal life with Him.

Matt did a neat little visual about putting our trust in Jesus. He used the stool as an example of how we put our complete trust in that stool when we sit on it. We don't stand from a distance and trust in the stool, and we don't just put part of our body on the stool and trust it. We put our entire weight on the stool and we trust that it will hold us up. That's what we have to do with Jesus. He wants us to put all of our trust in Him, not just certain parts. He wants us to put our trust in every aspect of our lives in Him. We have to put everything we are and everything we have into Jesus because that is why He did what He did. Jesus doesn't just want part of our trust/faith. He wants all of our trust/faith.

30 Days to Live, Pt. 3

2009-04-27T15:27:00.001-05:00

I took these notes from Sunday's talk by Matt J.

Broken Relationships

* What started the issue is not the problem

* The anger that still exists is the problem

- ANGER is and issue of the HEART

Ephesians 4:26-27

Be angry, and do not sin. Don't let the sun go down on your anger, and don't give the devil an opportunity

Ephesians 4:31-32

All bitterness, anger, and wrath, insult and slander must be removed from you, along with all wickedness. And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as Christ also forgave (forgives) you.

*Forgiveness is choosing to cancel the debt. "You don't owe me no mo."

*That's what Jesus did for us on the cross. He canceled the debt.

And now for one of my favorite scenes in Kingpin, after Roy Munson has left the barn raising for the lunch bell, one of the Amish confronts Munson about it to which he replies:

"You know what the bible says about not forgiving people" Amish guy: "Why don't you tell us what it says Mr. Munson."

Munson: "Well, it's against it."

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO OF OUR CAT

2009-04-23T16:00:00.000-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMgrCxLGDzk

THANKS

NHL/NBA Predictions 09

2009-04-18T08:34:00.000-05:00

Here are my NHL/NBA Playoff Prediction (I am absolutely positive that no one cares)

NHL

Eastern Conference

1. Boston Bruins 1. Bruins

8. Montreal Canadians 6. Hurricanes

6. Hurricanes

2. Washington Capitals

7. New York Rangers 4. Penguins

3. New Jersey Devils 2. Capitals

6. Carolina Hurricanes 4. Penguins

4. Penguins

4. Pittsburgh Penguins

5. Philadelphia Flyers 2. Red Wings

Champs

Western Conference

1. San Jose Sharks 1. Sharks

8. Anaheim Ducks 5. Flames

5. Flames

2. Detroit Red Wings

7. Columbus Blue Jackets 2. Red Wings

3. Vancouver Canucks 2. Red Wings

6. St. Louis Blues 2. Red Wings

3. Vancouver

4. Chicago Blackhawks

5. Calgary Flames

NBA

Western Conference

1. LA Lakers 1. Lakers

8. Utah Jazz 1. Lakers

5. Rockets

4. Portland Blazers

5. Houston Rockets 1. Lakers

3. Spurs

3. San Antonio Spurs

6. Dallas Mavericks 3. Spurs

7. Hornets

2. Denver Nuggets

7. N.O. Hornets

1. Lakers

Eastern Conference Champs

1. Cleveland Cavaliers 1. Cavs

8. Detroit Pistons 1. Cavs

4. Hawks

4. Atlanta Hawks

5. Miami Heat 1. Cavs

3. Magic

3. Orlando Magic

6. Philadelphia 76ers 3. Magic

2. Celtics

2. Boston Celtics

7. Chicago Bulls