Sunday Morning Reflections

This past Sunday @ College Life we continued our series titled, “Prayers for You,” where all we are doing is looking at different prayers that the Apostle Paul prayed for believers throughout the New Testament.

This was week three, the other weeks can be found HERE and HERE.

The prayer we looked at came right out of Colossians chapter one.

Here’s what Paul is up against – two main heresies that are taking over the church at Colosia – you need something more than Christ and that God’s acceptance is based on something we do plus something Christ does.

How does this look for us today?

I think often times we find ourselves making deals with God – we want some kind of special revelation. We say something to the rhythm of, “I’ll commit my life to you or I will follow you if you just show me which door to walk through.” Or we go with the other heresy and say as long as I look this way, act this way, talk this way then I am good to go with God.

When in reality – the person of Christ is what the Apostle Paul counters both these heresies with in his prayer to the Colossians.

He says, you want to know what God’s will is? Then look at Christ – fix your eyes on Christ – be like Christ – follow what He did – make him your goal. That’s my will. He also says – that there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that you can do to gain acceptance from Him – Christ has done EVERYTHING. Therefore Paul says – fix your eyes on Christ! Step back in the awe of this beautiful miracle that has taken place for which we are now allowed to enter into a relationship with God the Father. Worship Christ because of that.

How does this practically look for us?

You don’t have to worry about God’s will so much. As long as you are focused on Christ, modeling your life after Him, desiring to honor and obey Him at every turn – Paul says move out – God has a path already planned out for you – fix your eyes on Christ and walk comfortably through decisions you have to make in this life.

Good stuff. Paul can pray.

Filed under: Sunday Morning Reflections

Sunday Morning Recap

This past Sunday @ College Life we continued our current series called, “Prayers for You.” All we are really doing in this series is taking a look at some of the prayers Paul prayed for churches and people in his letters and trying to take a step back and see how Paul is speaking these same truths, or better yet prayers, into our lives today.

You can see last weeks recap HERE.

This week we dug into Paul’s prayer for the church at Philippi as seen in Philippians 1:3-12

This is another one of those prayers that you don’t really have to know the context to see the earnestness of Paul and his passion to see believers grow in their relationships with Christ while enduring great turmoil.

But…

If you do know the context then this prayer becomes even bigger! Paul is simply writing and praying over this church because he is in jail and facing, what he believes to be execution, and this church is scared. They are uncertain of how they are going to go on without Paul, they are uncertain if they are going to end up in prison because of their connection to Paul, and they are just flat out scared. Can you blam’em?

So Paul writes. He writes into their context of fear because when fear and faith intersect – the outcome is usually doubt. We begin to doubt God’s calling, we begin to doubt the person and reality of Christ, we begin to doubt all that God has called us to be. Paul knows this and so he writes and prays over this church that their faith would not be snuffed out due to fear.

I have all kinds of fears. Fear of losing Michelle. Fear of being inadequate. Fear of wasting my life. Fear of how bad the recession will end up being – and I would be lying if I told you there weren’t doubts in the midst of those fears – so Paul writes and prays into the context of my fear.

Versus 3-9 are essentially Paul being motivational – he reminds them that they are in this together (vs5), that he is joyful that they are in this together (vs4), and to remember and have great faith that God will finish what he has begun in them – to continue to look towards eternity and not our present condition (vs 6).

But his prayer is amazing – his prayer to them and over them is in versus 9-11.

He prays that their love for Christ – their relational connectedness to the person of Christ would grow in such a way that they would gain wisdom and knowledge through their love for the person of Christ. He doesn’t tell them to go and gain wisdom and knowledge – he tells them – focus on the love relationship with Christ so that you will become wise and knowledgeable. But why? So that (vs10) we will be able to determine what is best.

Paul is essentially saying that in this world, this fallen world that we live in, we will be able to walk in such a way, to navigate ourselves in such a way that we would be free from sin and fears that keep us captive by determining what is best for us.

Paul tells us how in chapter 4, verse 8 and 9 – he tells us to dwell on these things.

The truth is I don’t dwell on these things. And…my life would be very different if I did. Why don’t I? Because I get caught up in the every day flow of life. I hate that. So how can I push against that and into God?

I’m realizing that I need the gospel every day. I’ve started each morning over the last couple of weeks by simply thanking God for the gospel of Jesus Christ – that I am able to now be in a relationship with him that carries with it HUGE IMPLICATIONS for eternity. And I’ve become thankful, and grateful, and focused. I’ve found myself being more selfless, being more caring, and preaching the gospel more – simply by focusing and be thankful daily.

I don’t presume to know if this will work for you but I know that Paul knows it’s possible because he prays it for the Philippians – and – believe it or not – he prays it for you too…

Filed under: Bible Journey, Sunday Morning Reflections

Sunday Morning Reflections

Not gonna lie (as if lying is what I normally do) I am flat out LOVING College Life on Sunday mornings! I love getting to hang with students, dive into the word together, worship together, hang during the large services together, eat afterwards – it’s just a blast. Loving it. If you haven’t tried it – you should – a lot of connections and relationships being made and built – if you haven’t caught it I LOVE THAT KIND OF STUFF!

This past Sunday we kicked off our new series called, “Prayers for You.” All we are really doing is taking a look at Paul’s prayers to believers throughout his letters – realizing that they are prayers for us as well, imagining what it would look like to be the answer to these prayers, and then hearing my heart for us by taking Paul’s prayer and making it my own for you, for me, for us.

This past Sunday we looked at Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14-21.

The prayer itself is enough to knock you off your rocker but the context of why he is praying it makes this prayer UNBELIEVABLE.

This prayer comes after Paul lays out that the mystery of the Gospel is that God, through Christ, has made a new humanity – a humanity of both Jew and Gentile. CRAZY! You just don’t mix the two – hard for us to understand but you don’t.

While we don’t struggle with the whole Jew and Gentile issue anymore – we do struggle with the issue of superiority – the issue of this church is better than that church or this ministry is better than that ministry. But Paul calls us to be unified. To be THE CHURCH all together – not a church.

This has dramatically changed the way I think! It allows me to rejoice when other ministries blow up because God is doing something AMAZING in THE CHURCH not a church – I can be excited and not critical – it’s actually REALLY freeing.

What would it look like for churches to start getting excited about other churches – for churches to begin to partner and do things resource wise that never could have happened with just one of the churches trying to go at it alone? What would it look like if we all began to think about THE CHURCH and not a church or our church?

I’m thinking things would change and it would be CRAZY good! I’m just sayin…

But before we can grab hold of these partnerships – Paul calls us to love – not just love together but a love of Christ and it is through this love that we begin to understand each other.

I came across a section in a book I’m reading that does a great job of talking about this love that Paul speaks of in his prayer:

“I would ask you again to be humbly honest with yourself as you are reading. If I sat with you and I listened to recording of the last month of your words, whose kingdom, what kingdom, would I conclude those words are spoken to serve? Would it be the kingdom of self with its self-focused demandingness, expectancy, and entitlement? Would I hear a person who is quick to criticize, quick to judge, quick to slam, and quick to condemn, because people are always violating the laws of your kingdom? Is the greatest moral offense in your life an offense that someone makes against the laws of your kingdom? When this happens do you use words as a punishment or as a weapon? Do you use words to rein this person back into loyal service of the purposes of your kingdom of one?

Or would I hear you using words of love, honestly, encouragement, and service because your heart is taken up with the big-sky purposes of the kingdom of God. The entire law is summarized by a single command. If you had written that, what would you have written next? I probably would have written, “Love God above all else.” But that is clearly not what Paul writes. He writes, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Why is that an adequate summary of all that God calls me to? Oh, it is important to get this truth. It is only when I love God above all else that I will ever love my neighbor as myself. It’s only when God is in the rightful place in my life that I will treat you with the love that I have received from him. Brothers and sisters, hear this. You don’t fix language problems, you don’t fix communication problems, and you don’t fix word problems horizontally first; you first fix them vertically.”

How are you loving your neighbor? How do you think about THE CHURCH? Great challenges from Paul’s prayer. I would challenge you to read it with me this week and let it permeate our souls!

Filed under: Sunday Morning Reflections

Gifts that Give Back

Still haven’t finished the holiday shopping? Me neither…

This year, however, Michelle and I were influenced by the Advent Conspiracy challenge and decided to forego gifts for each other and instead put that money towards helping others. We opted to purchase feed bags for each other that essentially will feed a child for a year, you can see’em here.

While that has been exciting for us – we still have been struggling with the consumer side of things while purchasing gifts for the rest of the fam…and then I remembered…

Over the last year or so I have been dumping sites where you can buy stuff, in this case gifts, that not only are practical presents but through which your money actually goes to benefit people. I know…what a novel idea!

So…I figured that if you haven’t finished your shopping you might be able to grab a couple of last second presents from these sites while helping people through your purchases – it’s actually a pretty great feeling!!! Already bought some pajama gifts!!!

Anyway…take a looksee:

Punjammies – Punjammies are adorable sari-inspired pajamas. Each Punjammi is created in an after-care facility for women who have been rescued, released or escaped from a life of forced prostitution. Holistic aftercare involves quality medical care, emotional safety, education and the tools to create a new way of life for herself.

Tiny Rockstar - Looking for a cute top for your tot? Tiny Rockstar has two missions: 1) making cool shirts for kids, and 2) ending the phenomenon of orphans living in extreme poverty. Their first step is to fund a “Care Point” run by Children’s Hopechest in Swaziland, Africa. For every shirt you buy, Tiny Rockstar will donate enough to feed an orphan for a whole month. I think that’s pretty awesome! I love feeding people!!

The Hunger Site – If you go under Gifts that Give More on the sidebar, there are a lot of interesting things you can purchase in someone else’s name – things as different as a child’s education for a year or a microloan for a pig or goat.

Vintage Momma Designs – This inspired mama makes this jewelry and some of her profits go to help a clinic in Haiti and the Susan G. Komen Breat Cancer Fund. Check out her Etsy store as well!

Light Gives Heat sells necklaces and shirts that support a village in Uganda. Each piece is hand-made by a women in Uganda, providing them with a consistent income.

Rocks in the Sun is a gorgeous photography book filled with Haitian proverbs and photos of this beautiful but impoverished country. It’s compiled by Troy Livesay, who lives in Haiti and does great mission work there (and just happens to be a stellar photog). This would make a great coffee table book, and the proceeds go towards their missions work with Heartline Haiti and Worldwide Village.

Tom’s Shoes is giving a pair of shoes to a child in need for EVERY SHOE PURCHASED. This is one of Michelle and my favorites!!! Gives us good reason to buy shoes!!!

Real Hope for Haiti – Sponsor a child in Haiti for a year through Real Hope for Haiti. For $200 you could send a child in Haiti to school for the entire school year. That’s right – you can give a child the gift of an education.

World Vision has an amazing gift catalog where you can buy a number of innovative and sustaining gifts for people living in poverty. Their website even allows you to purchase and print a card letting a loved one know you have donated in their name. You can purchase medical attention for a pregnant woman, a goat that can provide milk to a child – even a grove of fruit trees!

31 Bits Jewelry is made out of 100% recycled paper, posters, and magazines by internally displaced women in Northern Uganda. Each piece of jewelry is unique and hand-crafted by a woman in the community of Gulu, Uganda.

Saint’s Coffee is tastey, and it’s fair trade, organic AND every lb you buy feeds an orphan for a month!

Invisible Children is selling bracelets made in Uganda to benefit former child soldiers. Each bracelet is a different color, and each color represents an individual child. These colored bracelets are accompanied by an inspiring short film about a child that has been personally affected by this unrelenting war.

Eastside Women of Purpose is selling $25 microloan gift cards to support a mircrofinance program through Bridges to the Nations, a non-profit ministry in Pattaya, Thailand. There are currently 50,000 young adults caught in the sex industry in Pattaya, Thailand, and a giftcard helps provide formerly enslaved men and women with education, job skills training and microloans to start their own business.

Filed under: Personal, Series, Sunday Morning Reflections, Videos

Big Announcement!!!

If you missed College Life last night you missed the “big announcement” of how we are going to be changing some things up for the spring semester – it is super exciting and I am pumped about it. If you weren’t there, no sweat, keep your eye on your email inbox as follow-up messages will be going out today but…

Here’s the gist:

Below is some of the “Q&A” from last night:

Why Sunday Mornings?

• We believe in small group! We believe that this is where life change happens and where you are provided the opportunity to grow, be real, and be known by those who desire to grow, learn, and glorify Christ with you!
  
  By moving off of Thursday night – small groups become our midweek focus! So get in a small group! Don’t worry about having to decide between Thursday night College Life and a small group – now the choice is easy!

Why 9am?

• We believe it’s important for the body to gather together as a multigenerational body. We don’t want college students to use College Life as their sunday morning “service” but to be an additional piece or “element” to their sunday morning service.
  
  It will be a natural flow – from college life into the service together and then maybe some grub afterwards

Some other benefits of the time shift:

• Majority of students naturally create space on Sundays for church – now they can connect to the college ministry on sunday
  
  It allows students coming in from OKC who desire to be a part of a college ministry to easily connect with us.
  
  Frees up a night during the week for you. We hope you will get into a small group, be involved with crusade, or get in an OU organization.
  
  Lines up with how Wildwood is currently doing ministry. The adult fellowships are on Sundays, the Children’s ministry is on Sunday, Youth meet on Sundays, Connections meets on Sundays, and now College Life will meet on Sundays.
  
  Hopefully by freeing up a night during the week we will be able to be a bit more social during the week then just scheduling everything on the weekend.

What will the partnership with Crusade look like?

• Details are still being ironed out but you will see some overlap in the ministries.
  
  Possible campus outreach events together
  
  Missions will be through Crusade. Trip to Moscow this summer…
  
  Mike Beckham will teach at College Life on Sunday mornings a couple of times each semester on evangelism and outreach and I will speak a couple times at Crusade each semester on connecting to the church, doctrine, and theology.

Good good things to come!!

*** A special reminder though – we will be finishing out the semester on Thursday nights @ 8pm with a special sneak peak of the sunday morning gathering on December 14th!

Filed under: Church, Sunday Morning Reflections

Thursday Night Reflections

Last night we got the awesome opportunity of hearing Mark Robinson, our executive pastor here at Wildwood, gently lead us through the murky waters surrounding the topic of “predestination.”

Mark kicked if off with a short little video game action (which you can see HERE) to set up the problem that most of us have with this idea of predestination – that we are just a bunch of robots under control of a master puppeteer. The problem though is that Scripture never says that.

We dove into the passages found Romans 9 & 10 where Paul talks both about being chosen (chapter 9) but also the idea of making choices (chapter 10).

The problem Mark presented is that we have several different themes playing out in scripture, especially with regards to predestination – you’ve got the idea of election but on the same token you’ve got the idea of choosing, you’ve got the idea that Christ died for all but at the same time in order to reap the benefits of that death there is a choice, and if that weren’t enough – everything falls underneath the large umbrella that God is ultimately sovereign. The problem is when we try to take those previous points and draw direct lines from point to point and try to put God in a box – it just doesn’t work. We have to hold all those points loosely and to ultimately embrace the tension within scripture while relying on the fact that God is good and sovereign.

Good stuff – great interactions!

Next week – How do we respond to homosexuality?

If you’re falling me on facebook – know you can always find me on the web HERE

Filed under: Sunday Morning Reflections

More Reflections from Thursday’s College Life…

I recently spent some time reflecting on last Thursday’s talk at College Life on the topic of God’s will (if you haven’t read it yet, you can find it here). This morning I went back and reread, 1 Samuel 14, and verse six jumped out at me again…

I love the phrase, “Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf.” The key word being, “Perhaps.” Jonathan does what he believes needs to be done and moves out to face the ENTIRE Philistine army with just a sword and his armor barrier trailing behind and all he has to say about it is, “Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf.” Jonathan doesn’t stay – he acts on what he believes is the right thing to do. Jonathan knows that he may potentially die but he moves.

In light of Jonathan I honestly I think many, if not most, Christians take the opposite approach. Most Christians have this phrase in their head, “Perhaps the Lord WON’T act on our behalf.” We then begin to let fear dictate or decisions. We have a better-safe-than-sorry mentality. We live as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.

Maybe it’s time for a shift in the way we think. I find myself asking the question, “When did we start believing that God wants to take us to safe places to do easy things?” But yet, all throughout scripture you see godly men doing CRAZY things that didn’t make a lot of sense and for sure were not considered “safe.” You got Abraham leaving everything to move to a new land he’s never seen, Noah builds an ark like a fool, Moses goes toe to toe with Pharaoh, Esther risks it all, Matthew gives up riches, Peter makes some mistakes and keeps on trucking, Paul does all kinds of crazy things! All because they were not concerned about their safety but more concerned about glorifying God and honoring Him among the nations!!

I think that we’ve made a false assumption that the will of God gets easier as we grow spiritually. Some dimensions do get easier with the consistent practice of spiritual disciplines but I also think God gives us more difficult, dangerous, and daring things to do as we grow spiritually as well!

I love this phrase and it’s so hopeful and optimistic at the same time. Perhaps God will act on our behalf and I pray that God would give us the spirit of Jonathan to move out!

Filed under: Reflection, Sunday Morning Reflections

Thursday Night Recap

This past Thursday @ College Life we kicked off our new series – “Q&A – You asked, We’re Answering” and I thought it was pretty stellar too! We looked into the topic of God’s will and the real application is just to move – don’t be stuck in paralysis – keeping pumping those feet!!

We jumped around a bit but we started off with this passage and essentially saw Jonathan make the decision to move out. He wasn’t concerned that the Israelites were undermanned, under-resourced, and underprepared – he knew that God could accomplish anything and so he moved out. In the meantime Saul spent his time sitting under the tree hoping that God would do something without him. Jonathan said, “Use me!”

We then jumped forward to this section of Scripture which is probably one of my favorites to look at when it comes to the topic of “God’s Will.” Paul begins talking about the “whatever’s” and we saw that essentially Paul is saying – think about WHATEVER! If it pertains to a growing, deepening, outwardly impacting relationship with God the Father, Christ Jesus, and Holy Spirit – think about them – WHATEVER they are. Paul then answers the question that we all have, “What should I do.” And right there at the beginning of verse 9, Paul says – “WHATEVER!” He says – whatever you are thinking about – do them! And mimic me as I mimic the Father doing WHATEVER that may be. Just do something.

Unfortunately we spend more time trying to figure out what “noble” means and what “right” means and what “lovely” means and then we have a series on Paul’s “whatever” statements to dive deeper into those words. But what Paul is saying – is think about WHATEVER pertains to your relationship with Christ.

We then skipped backward to this chapter and saw Paul implementing his “whatever” statements. He just kept moving and God kept directing him. The point is Paul didn’t really know where he was going but he knew why – to preach the gospel and he depended on God to do the rest – he just kept moving. Pretty awesome!

Some take aways:

Choices are one of the, if not the most, SPIRITUAL ACTIVITIES that we engage in every day. We just don’t know that because we are always making them – it’s like air. Sure, evangelism, outreach, prayer, scripture reading, devotions, worship – all these things are also spiritual activities but behind each of them you are making a choice.

Q: What if I mess up God’s will for my life?

A: A question that directly relates to this is – do you really believe that you can thwart the will of God? Do you believe that you can screw up the sovereignty of God? I am betting that you can’t – there is freedom in that – God has created us to make choices!

Q: How do I know God’s will?

A: Pray, seek counsel, fast and then move out. God has uniquely gifted us within the body of Christ with passions – you can use those passions. Keep Christ centered and get moving – God will move you and place you where He wants you!

Q: What if I fail?

A: You probably will! AND THAT IS OK!!! We have to remember that God does not view success and failure like we do. He is too busy molding and shaping us to be the people He wants us to be! Maybe that failure was there so that He could teach you faithfulness, trust, security in Him, how to do it differently – all so that whatever is in your future that He is preparing you for will be AWESOME!

Q: What if I get out in front of God?

A: You really think God is that slow? That you will get going and that God will be behind you panting say, “Man…I didn’t know you had that in you…” Probably not. Move.

I think that it’s also important to know after the Acts chapter what happens to Paul. He gets kicked around, stoned, beaten, kicked out of cities, put in jail – all WHILE being IN God’s will. Being in God’s will does not mean life will be easy. It’s not a free pass. It can and will be hard but that doesn’t mean to abandon ship – it means to persevere and continue to move forward.

Good times!! I love this stuff!

Next week – Predestination.

Filed under: Sunday Morning Reflections

Thursday Night Reflections

Not going to lie…we had a small group this past Thursday and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! The fellas led us in a sweet sweet sweet time of worship, played a fun game that got people laughing, and just got to dive into the word together. I love community and I love college students and last night I felt like I got both at the same time and it was AWESOME.

Here’s some things I’m taking away and putting to practice from the passage we looked at last night:

• That while bible studies, church, groups, and camps are great ways to grow and deepen our walks – they don’t substitute for an abiding relationship with Christ. True power, true fruit, and true growth come from an abiding relationship Christ – the other things are just tools to help…abiding comes first.
• The word, “Abide,” really has two meanings: to be desperately dependent upon the person of Christ and to be restfully resident in the identity we have in Christ. That we are not dependent upon finances, relationships, future jobs – we are dependent on Christ. That our identities aren’t made up of where we go to church, relationships we are involved in, or groups that we are a part of – our identity is to be a child of God moving out into the world so that we may honor and glorify Him in all we do.

I pray that we would spend time in the upcoming week reflecting on the person of Christ in our lives. May we tap into the source of true “life” and become desperately dependent and restfully resident in Him. That might take some altering of habits that we have built up but we have to remember that the pruning only results in greater fruit!

Filed under: Sunday Morning Reflections

Thursday Night Reflections…

Last night we had the awesome opportunity of listening to Mark Robinson share his heart not just for college students but for college students connecting to the church. Mark continued our series titled, “Elements – What Makes up College Life” by jumping into the element of “connection.”

Mark spoke out of this passage and brought new insight that I had never really paid much attention to – either that says something for Marks ability to use scripture well or my inability to pick up on details (let’s hope it’s the previous).

I think the hinge of Marks teaching was verse 12 where Paul is talking about going to Rome to meet with the church so that they could be MUTUALLY encouraged. I’ve never thought about this. Paul, the big dawg of our New Testament, wants to go to Rome not to just impart God’s gifting through him but to be encouraged by THEM. Whoa – Paul needs encouragement? Paul wants to connect with believers in such a way that BOTH parties of the conversation will be encouraged and BOTH parties of the conversation bring something unique to the table! This is good stuff!

I wonder what situations that I am in daily that God is using me to encourage or to benefit another person. Have you ever thought about that? It brings great meaning and potential impact for simply living our daily lives! Even for the church – everyone is there to be what? MUTUALLY encouraged and used! If we treat a church as a shopping mart – it’s one way transaction – Paul says, “no, it’s two way – you and I!”

What do you bring to the table on Thursday nights and for College Life in general? How is God using you to impact someone else through your time on Thursday nights? How is someone else blessing you through simple conversations that go on on Thursdays? Who is in your life that is missing out on the opportunity to gather, fellowship, and connect with other students on Thursdays?

This is great stuff!!

Filed under: Sunday Morning Reflections

Thursday Night Reflections

After thinking through Thursday night and refocusing again on this passage that we covered – I am further motivated to worship God because HE IS GREAT!

I think so often we forget that simple truth. Worship is not about the music. Worship is not about the lights. Worship is not about motion backgrounds. Worship is not about even liking the worship leader. Worship IS about worshiping a GREAT God – why? Because HE IS GREAT! How? GREATLY!

I truly believe that King David hit the ball out of the park with that simple statement in 1 Chronicles.

I hope and pray that you would take the challenge I gave on Thursday and you would take the Word of God, shut yourself alone in a closet, and allow Him to stir your soul with the truth of His Greatness!

Filed under: Sunday Morning Reflections

What if?

Today I was thinking back over last Thursdays talk on community within the context of Acts 2:32-47 (though I think verse 40 really gives us what’s going on leading into these versus) and I came up with a series of “what if” statements about the church, community, us as believers, our relation to the world…

What if…

• WHAT IF we were sold out to one another in such a way that daily people were drawn to the community that we had?
• WHAT IF we were not afraid to beg God for ridiculous things, knowing He is able?
• WHAT IF we believed that Acts 2:42-47 was the starting point and example for how to function together as a body – digging into the Word, sharing our stuff, eating together, and praying hard for one another?
• WHAT IF we did Acts 2:42-47 instead of just giving little examples of how we could possibly do it today – what if we did it today?
• WHAT IF we really believed the church existed to change the world and not just to “meet my needs” – what would it look like for the Church to be living, breathing organism like the body?
• WHAT IF we really believed that God’s Kingdom should grow through the Church instead of being a stagnant pool?
• WHAT IF we embraced one another as brothers and sisters instead of slandering each other?

Man…I know some of those may be out of this world but come on…WHAT IF for crying out loud?? I know I can’t effect change upon everyone but I can effect change on myself. Hopefully I can begin to apply these statements to my life instead of just principles that I talk about…

Filed under: Church, Reflection, Sunday Morning Reflections

Thursday Night Reflections

Well tonight we had our opening College Life of the semester and I thought it was pretty sweet, though I admit I am a bit biased. It was great for me to finally have all our students together in one place and you could almost feel the excitement. I think it’s going to be a great year!

A couple of my reflections:

• I thought the leadership team was awesome – did a great job welcoming, showing people where to go, getting people signed up for small groups – they are all studs and studdettes
• The band rocked my face off! Andrew did a great job leading it out, Arash jammed the electric, Nathan was like animal on the drums, and Paige striked those paino keys like they were going out of business. AND…did everyone hear Gillian? The newest addition to the worship team and she rocked her voice all night long!
• As far as talk “takeaways” I would take the following:

1. We must drop our card board cutouts if we want to engage each other in real/genuine community
2. Romans 12:9 says, “Let love be sincere” – Also translated without hypocrisy – when we use fake cutouts of ourselves – true love cannot take place, in-fact, it inhibits it from taking place!
3. We looked at Acts 2 – the first community/church in the New Testament and saw: They were devoted to “the apostles teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer – this translates to our core elements at college life – worship, connect, serve, honor. All these things they were “devoted” to…they weren’t hobbies – they were committed to them

How can we be committed to these above aspects each day in our lives?

I think the apostles teaching translates that they were devoted to getting in the word – go get in the word, if you haven’t today – stop and go do it!

They were devoted to fellowship. The sold there stuff to help others! How are you helping those around you? Do you care more about your stuff or people? Tuff question.

They were committed to breaking bread – they were eating together – real intimacy happens at a table with people. Go eat with someone, get to know them.

Lastly, they were committed to prayer. Are you praying for those around you, the campus, the church, the community? Are you praying for those who are in need? Prayer also shows that people are more important than ourselves. Go and do it!

A lot of challenging stuff tonight – it’s hard for me too! Hopefully we can take gradual steps to change the way we interact with the world! I’m excited for the next couple of weeks as we unpack our core elements!

Filed under: Sunday Morning Reflections