All week I have been meditating on possible connections between our theme of "The Holiness of God" and the observance of Memorial Day. The whole idea to do a slideshow grew out of my own arrangement of the hymn, "My Country 'Tis of Thee" for brass choir that was recorded a few years ago. As it turns out, we have too many slides for that length of piece. So I rummaged through my patriotic CD library last night, and found a perfect rendition of the Battle Hymn. I got chills and goose bumps when the line came up that said, "As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free." There is the connection! We will have a powerful service Sunday. God didn't want the video backed by my arrangement, but by this powerful hymn that ties the entire service together. He works in mysterious ways. As a treat to those following this blog, here is the slideshow in its current manifestation. I love each of you in the Lord! ~ Pastor Billy
For the story behind this inspiring hymn, visit: LINK
Friday, May 22, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tuesday's Two Cents - Joy in Serving
Where does your joy in serving the Lord come from - men or God?
If your joy in serving the Lord comes from men, or is tied to men to any degree, it will be vulnerable to waning, and perhaps even disappearing altogether. This leads to hurt, discouragement, and even burnout. If your joy in serving the Lord comes from God, then that joy will be as eternal as God is, as consistent as God is, and as fulfilling as He is.
Consider Martha. She lost her joy in serving (Luke 10), because her focus was on Mary's apparent non-service. Consider Elijah. He asked God to take him home even after one of the strongest victories any man of God has ever witnessed, because the wicked queen Jezebel had threatened his life. Since her crosshairs were on his scalp, his joy in serving the Lord was zapped.
Now consider Jesus, who came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many. His joy in serving was not in being appreciated, not in our obedience or believing in Him. His joy in serving the Father was entirely rooted in the Father's attributes and "the joy that was set before Him."
What an example for us. Let us ask God to help us maintain a healthy focus on Him, directing our service toward His glory and His notice - the audience of One.
If your joy in serving the Lord comes from men, or is tied to men to any degree, it will be vulnerable to waning, and perhaps even disappearing altogether. This leads to hurt, discouragement, and even burnout. If your joy in serving the Lord comes from God, then that joy will be as eternal as God is, as consistent as God is, and as fulfilling as He is.
Consider Martha. She lost her joy in serving (Luke 10), because her focus was on Mary's apparent non-service. Consider Elijah. He asked God to take him home even after one of the strongest victories any man of God has ever witnessed, because the wicked queen Jezebel had threatened his life. Since her crosshairs were on his scalp, his joy in serving the Lord was zapped.
Now consider Jesus, who came not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many. His joy in serving was not in being appreciated, not in our obedience or believing in Him. His joy in serving the Father was entirely rooted in the Father's attributes and "the joy that was set before Him."
What an example for us. Let us ask God to help us maintain a healthy focus on Him, directing our service toward His glory and His notice - the audience of One.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Saturday Saturation (Ideas for Our Church)
When someone once asked me what I wanted to do in my ministry, I began describing my burden to see churches planted. I was calling myself a church planter, but that missionary corrected me. The technical term for what I feel called to be is a church plant facilitator. Part of my vision for our church is to plant another church every 5-7 years. We can train the staff in our church for those five years, raise funds for five years, and then send them out. Here is a site that nails down exactly how this is done: http://www.churchplantingvillage.net/
A preacher doused in gasoline shares Christ rather than renouncing him. This is the single most profound video I have watched in years:
LINK to Video
As we become a Great Commission church, there are scores of ideas and opportunities that we can tap into. Consider the idea from the IMB about adopting a people group! I think our church should definitely do this: Link to IMB Website
I grew up in a church where the youth group went out of the country at least once/year. That is my goal for our church as well. I am actively working with Trey Summerlin to develop some International and affordable mission trip options for our youth (middle school & high school). Here is a site with a TON of information for parents regarding logistics that allow you to search for opportunities around the globe. This is what God has called each of us to do. http://www.thetask.org/youth/YOM/yom.htm
Another decent site for this is: http://www.world-changers.net/
And how bout something like this video to encourage folks to become more involved in Sunday School small groups?
Link to Video
Finally, Give me your thoughts on this church's site:
http://cffamily.org/home
Adios,
Pastor Billy
P. S. Some time when I have more time I'll learn how to embed this vids into the blog :(!
A preacher doused in gasoline shares Christ rather than renouncing him. This is the single most profound video I have watched in years:
LINK to Video
As we become a Great Commission church, there are scores of ideas and opportunities that we can tap into. Consider the idea from the IMB about adopting a people group! I think our church should definitely do this: Link to IMB Website
I grew up in a church where the youth group went out of the country at least once/year. That is my goal for our church as well. I am actively working with Trey Summerlin to develop some International and affordable mission trip options for our youth (middle school & high school). Here is a site with a TON of information for parents regarding logistics that allow you to search for opportunities around the globe. This is what God has called each of us to do. http://www.thetask.org/youth/YOM/yom.htm
Another decent site for this is: http://www.world-changers.net/
And how bout something like this video to encourage folks to become more involved in Sunday School small groups?
Link to Video
Finally, Give me your thoughts on this church's site:
http://cffamily.org/home
Adios,
Pastor Billy
P. S. Some time when I have more time I'll learn how to embed this vids into the blog :(!
Friday, May 1, 2009
Happy May Day! (Sunday's in May)
Since it's the first day of May, let me give you guys a run-down of what you can expect to see this month at church!
May 3 - We will be having a baptism for one of our boys who has made a profession of faith; he will be baptized by his grandfather! We will be observing the Lord's Supper, and in light of Christ's sacrifice for us, we will consider whether or not we are offering Him something that costs us nothing. As part of our worship service, there will be a mini-drama titled "Checkbook Mysteries" that will crack us up, while driving home an important truth.
May 10 - Mother's Day! We will honor all mothers present, with special gifts for the oldest mother, newest mother, and three others randomly selected.
May 17 - 2nd Annual Day of Prayer - This day will be a turning point for our church. God has brought us through an exciting year together, and we have seen Him do some amazing things - all as a result of prayer. We will have a special time of prayer that morning at 8. There will not be a breakfast, as I inadvertently left in the calendar section of the newsletter from last year. In the worship service, we will be introducing some blended worship that will help us worship the Lord in a broader way in the coming months. People can get excited about worshiping Christ! Stay tuned to your newsletter and the church website about some exciting outdoor events for that night in place of our evening service.
May 24 - On this Memorial Day Sunday, we will be honoring our troops. We are asking our people who have served or who have family that has served in the military to help us out with pictures for a special slideshow this day.
May 31 - Can you believe it? We get an extra Sunday this month! Plans are coming together for a wonderful day of worship in God's house!
In a season where it is easy to stay over on vacation and miss a worship service and to drop off in regularity of church attendance, let me encourage each of you to be faithful to the house of God throughout this exciting month!
Pastor Billy
May 3 - We will be having a baptism for one of our boys who has made a profession of faith; he will be baptized by his grandfather! We will be observing the Lord's Supper, and in light of Christ's sacrifice for us, we will consider whether or not we are offering Him something that costs us nothing. As part of our worship service, there will be a mini-drama titled "Checkbook Mysteries" that will crack us up, while driving home an important truth.
May 10 - Mother's Day! We will honor all mothers present, with special gifts for the oldest mother, newest mother, and three others randomly selected.
May 17 - 2nd Annual Day of Prayer - This day will be a turning point for our church. God has brought us through an exciting year together, and we have seen Him do some amazing things - all as a result of prayer. We will have a special time of prayer that morning at 8. There will not be a breakfast, as I inadvertently left in the calendar section of the newsletter from last year. In the worship service, we will be introducing some blended worship that will help us worship the Lord in a broader way in the coming months. People can get excited about worshiping Christ! Stay tuned to your newsletter and the church website about some exciting outdoor events for that night in place of our evening service.
May 24 - On this Memorial Day Sunday, we will be honoring our troops. We are asking our people who have served or who have family that has served in the military to help us out with pictures for a special slideshow this day.
May 31 - Can you believe it? We get an extra Sunday this month! Plans are coming together for a wonderful day of worship in God's house!
In a season where it is easy to stay over on vacation and miss a worship service and to drop off in regularity of church attendance, let me encourage each of you to be faithful to the house of God throughout this exciting month!
Pastor Billy
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