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.