Communion Medition

This is a Sermon Jam that I created for Communion this coming Sunday! 

Sermon Jam on Galatians 3:21 - This is What Grace is All About

Amazing Story about a Women Who Calls her Dad

Video about Not Giving Up

I used this video last week in my sermon series on Galatians.  Paul writes the book to help us to keep going and not give up!

New Intro Video for our Website

Friend Day

I am excited about Friend Day Next Sunday.  This week I preached on "Jesus is a freind that always gives Hope!"

I have had a lot of difficulties in my life and the one thing that has helped me through my difficulties beside my faith is my friends. 

Come and learn about how to build real friendships and learn how to let Jesus be your best friend.

Jesus Understands My Lostness - Season Finale of Lost

Tomorrow we will be talking about how Jesus understands our lostness. This Sunday will be the season finale of "Lost."

See what CNN says about how the season will end:



Come Tomorrow and find out how it really ends!

Family First for the Millennials!

I recently read this article over at the Christian Post! I thought it was very interesting and really applied to our church.

"A study by LifeWay Research of those born between 1980 and 1991 show that this generation, sometimes termed “Millennials,” puts family first in importance in their lives, followed by friends, education, career, and religion. 62% of Millennials placed family first on their priority list with friends a distant second at 25%. Religion came in sixth at 13%; other responses included finances (12%), happiness (12%), health (10%), and the future (5%).

Researchers Thom and Jess Rainer said the priority of family was mentioned most often by whites, the more educated, those who were married, and those who self-identified as Christian. Friendships are more important to younger Millennials, those with higher incomes, and singles. “Millennials are committed to family above other priorities, even though many are waiting to start their own families,” Thom Rainer said. “Churches with a strong understanding and sense of family—as well as those that are able to cross generations, allowing older adults to reach younger adults—will be able to more easily reach Millennials.”

Christian Post 5/11/10

Monday Meditation - Jesus Understands My Doubt

Yesterday was a great day! I continued to preach on the series "Jesus is a man that understands my temptation to Doubt" out of John 20. I talked about Thomas and how he doubted and Jesus understood and still gave him a personal experience to grow his faith. In summary - I said that Jesus understands our temptation to doubt and he helps us overcome our doubts...

1. Through giving us a personal experience - Jesus appeared to Thomas and told him to place his hands into the holes in Jesus' hands and feet. The point is that Jesus wants to give us all a personal expereince to overcome our doubts.

2. Through the command "quit doubting and believe." Jesus wants us to work on our doubts through changing our thinking.

3. Through helping us focus on the blessings of belief! Jesus told Thomas that "blessed are those who beleive and have not seen."

Jesus provided a way for us to overcome our doubts...

Encouragement Service - What I Enjoy Most About the People...

We recently had an encouragement service at the church. Over the next few weeks I want to share some of the responses from the people at the church.

What I enjoy most about the people who attend RPCC IS… • Friendliness • Caring • Like Family • Can Count on them for prayers • They make everyone feel welcome • Fellowship • Warmth and Good Examples • Their Love • Genuine • Their love and friendship • Kindness people show each other • Genuine

I really love some of these responses. I really liked the word "Genuine." I hope more than anything that the people at our church are genuine and authentic.

Encouragement Service

We have currently been looking at "Jesus - A Man Who Understands." Last week we talked about the fact that Jesus understands our temptation to quit. Therefore yesterday we had an "Encouragement Service." The service was designed to encourage the church and others through our 60 minutes together.

We spent time discussing how God encourages us. We had encouragement stations set up around the room with questions for people to answer. We will talk more about the questions in the following days.

Then we spent time writing encouragement notes to each other. We had people write down thier names on the 3 X 5 card and then we passed out the cards and another person wrote an encouragement note to the person.

Finally we spent a few mintues writing encouragement notes to teachers and staff at Whittier Elementary School. We wrote 50 encouragement notes...

It is good to be encouraged!

TransForm East Coast Conference

Today I had the pleasure of attending the Transform East Coast Conference. This conference is centered around the Emerent community. The emerging church is a group of committed believers that look at the margins of community and think about ways that those communities can be connected to the christian community. The Emerging Church and ideas are continuing to grow. My hope for Restoration Point is exacting in line with the emerging ideas:

• A Place where a variety of worship expereinces take place. Services like the "encouragement university"; Silent Service; Prayer Station Service; and Communion Services.
• Diversity is Desired - We want people from all nations, races, and backgrounds to join in community together.
• Focus on community not ritual - The reality is that some churches go through the motions of worship and service. Emerging churches and Restoration Point seeks to find creative ways to serve our community and not just focus on church only programs.
• Growth is Essential to Spirituality - Preaching and teaching are essential to the movement of God in a person's life.

The bottom line is that we don't want to be like every other church. We simply want to be the church that God called us to be.

Key Question: What kind of church would you like to be a part of?

Monday Musings - Jesus Understands My Temptation to Quit

This new post each Monday will be my reflection on this past Sunday's Service. It has often been said that Monday's are the worst day for preachers because of the let down after the Sunday Services. I want to spend a few minutes reflecting on my thoughts of the Sunday Service. This first post has to do with my sermon yesterday - Jesus, A Man Who Understands My Temptation to Quit! I really liked this sermon because I so often feel like I want to quit. I understand that I live in a world that quits. 50% of marriages end in divorce. We talk about the fact at the National Fatherhood Inititive that 24 million children grow up without a dad in the home (24 million dads giving up on their kids). I talk with people almost every week that give up on their dreams. I also see so many people that are quitting church. In fact one of the books that I read last year was "Quitting Church" by Julia Dunn. Matthew 26:36-46 tells us about how Jesus understands our desire to quit. Jesus was in the garden and he basically told God he felt like giving up. I tried to communicate yesterday that we tend to quit when we focus on our own wishes, lose focus, put God on our timetable, or refuse to face difficulties. One fact that the Holy Spirit really impressed on me about giving up was from Judas. I said that "Judas didn't get to experience the resurrection because he was stuck at the crucifixion." The point was that I should not let my difficulties lead me to quit so I miss my victories. Finally, I had the church write down one thing that they vowed that they would never quit. What would be your thing?

Jesus - A Man Who Understands

We are starting a new sermon series - JESUS, A MAN WHO UNDERSTANDS! As I have been thinking about the price that Jesus paid in going to the cross the price for our sins. I kept coming back to the fact that the whole "Cross Experience" was to communicate to us that He understands our pains, worries, and all of our life experiences. Hebrews teaches us that "Jesus is one that can sypathize with us in our weaknesses." I love this fact - Jesus, understands me. If you want to find out how Jesus understands you - come check out our church. One quick question - What would you like Jesus to understand about you?

WOW Service and Easter Egg Hunt

Yesterday we celebrated our Easter Service with a special outdoor service and then an a easter egg hunt! We had almost 50 people and the weather was just beautiful. We were blessed with special music by Roy Denton and a wonderful testimony time about the 24 hour prayer retreat and the annual prayer service.

After the service we had a easter egg hunt for the kids. It is always fun to watch the kids run around searching for the eggs.

I also preached about how Jesus Understands Us. The message of the Resurrection is the fact Jesus understands us and understands our need for a Savior. Over the next 8 weeks we will be looking more into this topic and the ways that Jesus understands us.

My only disappointment was that we did not have as many visitors as I would have liked. I have such a heart for the community and I just want them to come to know Jesus as I do. He has done so much for my life and know that He could do great things for them as well.

24 Hour Prayer Retreat

We just finished the 24 hour prayer retreat!

WOW - what an experience. This year the retreat was focused on the theme of JOY. This really is a highlight of my year. It always makes me feel renewed, refreshed, and restored.

One highlight for me was during our family prayer time, my daughter who is 15 prayed that one day in the future she would find a husband that was just like her dad. Wow - what a blessing and what a great time of joy.

Couple of questions that I would love for you to respond to:

1. What prayer or prayer time has given you the most joy and why?

2. How could you increase your joy from your prayer life?

Being a 5C Christian - Connection

Working on this weeks sermon - "How to Have a Connected Spirit." This sermon will come out of 1 Peter 4. I think one of the most important issues for the Christian is staying connected to God. It is so hard to stay connected in a disconnected world. I would love to hear from you. Key Question - How do you connect to God?

My feelings on yesterday sermon!

Yesterday I preached on 1 Peter 3:13-22. I was continuing on in the series Becoming a 5C Christian. Yesterday I preached on the topic of Confession. This is a topic that is close to my heart. The picture that I used is a picture that my late brother Mark painted called "The Whisper." I think the picture properly shows the concepts of talking and telling other people important facts. Peter talks the importance of telling others (confessing) 1. About why we beleive what we beleive. 2. About who Jesus is and what He has done for us. 3. About our sins so that we can receive salvation and a clean conscience. Confession is an essential part of the Christian life. We must learn how to live an authentic life and we do that from not hiding by saying one thing and then living different then what we proclaim.

A Pastor's Heart - How to Stay Connected To Your People

I wrote an article for www.lifeway.com that talks about how preachers can stay connected to their people. You can read the article at: http://www.lifeway.com/article/167206/ It is my hope and prayer that I stay connected to the people that I do life with.

My Favorite Leadership Books

I just made a post over at www.weallspeak.blogspot.com about my favorite leadership books. I would encourage you to check it out if you are looking for a good book to read. Let me know your favorite leadership books.

Today's Sermon - How to Have a Servant's Heart

This morning I preached on 1 Peter 2:13-25 on "How to Have a Servant's Heart." This was part of my current series on BECOMING A 5C Christian. Last week I looked at Courage, and this week was focused on being Committed to service. As I look at the 5C's I think the concept of committment is the one that is often the most challenging. I stated today that there were four steps to learning how to have a Servant's Heart. 1. Remermber that your service Pleases God. 2. Realize that through service you become more like God. 3. Know that God is the one that will give you rewards for your service. 4. Know that service is what gives your life purpose. As a Church, I hope that we are committed to serving Christ because of all that He has done for us.

Olympics turn the most courageous into the most fearful!

Fear stops Olympic Bobsledders! CNN just posted an article about the Netherland bobsled team. You can read the article at: http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/02/25/olympics.bobsled.driver.quits/index.html?hpt=Sbin

Last week I talked about becoming a courageous Christian. This article reminds me that there are many things that cause us fear.

Question: What are you the most afraid of?

Things that cause me the most fear...

1. Dying without telling my family that I love them.

2. Not winning my friend to Christ.

3. Not fulfilling my calling in God.

4. Failing to enjoy the defining moments of life.

5. Falling into Sins and letting those sins control me.

My Defining Moments in Ministry

I recently wrote an article for www.lifeway.com that explains my five defining moments of ministry. This article will give you a little insight to who I am. Enjoy. "For those of us that have been in ministry for awhile, it can seem that one Sunday runs into the next and that every Sunday becomes like the Sunday before it. However, as I look back over the landscape of ministry I find that there are some defining moments that have shaped me as a Christian leader. For the rest of the article go to: http://www.lifeway.com/article/170102/

The Most Courageous Man I Know

I just finishing preaching out of 1 Peter 1:3-9 about Having a Courageous Faith. I ended the sermon with this video clip from "The Passion of Christ." I think this is one of the most moving clips in this movie. It leaves no doubt that Jesus is the most courageous man I know.

5C Christian - Learning to have a Courageous Faith

New Sermon Series: Becoming a 5C Christian! Tomorrow we are going to be starting a new sermon series in 1 Peter called "Becoming a 5C Christian." Tomorrow we will be looking at 1 Peter 1:3-9 and talking about the "How to have a Courageous Faith." I am excited about this series because I think these 5 areas will be very enlightening because it is areas that we very seldom talk about as it pertains to our Christian life. A 5C Christian is one: 1. That has a Courageous Faith 2. That knows how to live a life on Contentment 3. That is Committed to Serving Christ. 4. That Confesses so they can live an Authentic Life. 5. That lives in Communion with God. You Can find more at our website at: www.therestorationpoint.com

Tiger Woods Press Conference - The Art of Confession

Tiger Woods has now confessed. He admitted in his press conference that he was living a life of excess because he thought that he deserving because of his accomplishments. He admitted that he thought he was different, but now realizes that he must play by the same rules as everyone else. The fact is that Tiger needed to confess. He had to admit to others about his mistakes. Confession is one of the 5C's to being a good Chrisitian. All of us must learn how to confess if we are going to have a deep relationship with Christ. Maybe Tigers greatest feat never happened on the golf course but rather in the club house where Tiger became real to all of us.

Snow, Snow and More Snow -

I am sitting here looking out my window at the snow...

I must admit that I feel like this poor guy after not being able to meet for two straight weeks because of the Frederick County Schools being closed. I encouraged all of our people to attend area churches that were open this weekend. This is one of the small problems of not owning your own building. However, I can think of some advnatages of meeting in a place like a school. For example:

1. No Building to Define You - We teach that the church is the people, not a building. We want to defined by our beliefs, values, and attitudes - not by a building. We are not against buildings, we just know that sometimes they can define what you do and who you are.
2. We are in the mainstream of culture - We meet in a school and the school is in the center of the neighborhood. We want to be out and in the midest of the people, not off some place where we are in a "holy huddle."
3. We able to focus on ministry and not upkeep - Owning a building means that you are responsible for the upkeep of the building. We, as a new church want to focus on how we can minister to the people and grow spiritually and not be concerned about the upkeep of a building.

So even though we weren't able to meet this week - I still like meeting in Whittier Elementary School but I do look forward to the snow stopping!

Why a Christian Church

Because of what we believe...

That Jesus is God's Son. He is the one that paid the sacrifice for our sins and is our only way of salvation. Jesus is who we seek to remember on a weekly basis and the one we seek to model after each day of the week. He is our personal Savior and the one that removes our guilt with His Grace.

Jesus means so many things to so many people, but it is the desire of our church to help people come to know Jesus personally and allow His Words help you to be restored, refreshed, and renewed.

Jesus is who we preach and why we serve. He is our model, our example, our guide, and our King. We love Jesus and we want all people to love Him to.

Becoming The People We Are Suppose to Become

This is our theme for 2010. We are a new church in Frederick Md meeting at Whittier Elementary School on Sunday mornings. We are a non-denominational Christian Church that believes in Restoring the New Testament Church. Over the next few weeks I will blog about our beliefs, our sermons (teachings); and our story about who we are and who we are becoming. I hope that you can join in on the journey and become restored, refreshed, and renewed.