Devastation...

I have posted a picture of New Orleans after the hurricane. Very sobering, and it makes you realize the power of nature as God has given it. Let's be in prayer over the relief and rescue efforts, and pray that the churches in that area will be instrumental in bringing about God's healing.

This is a picture of the aftermath in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina.  

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Summer is coming closer to ending, and that means that our 40 Days of Purpose campaign is getting closer. I was excited yesterday to announce from the pulpit for the first time that the campaign is coming - that we are embarking on this spiritual growth campaign that will greatly impact The Journey! May God's kingdom rule be made manifest in the hearts and lives of His people in our congregation.

Speaking of God's kingdom, we discussed today the importance of our prayers in ushering in the kingdom of God from Revelation 8:1-5. I was excited about this message (even though it was not originally my own) because I felt that the truth from Scripture in this passage was overwhelming - that our prayers are stored up on the altar before God, ready to be poured out in answers at God's timing. I hope that it got people thinking. It has sparked some interesting conversations in my family, that's for sure! :)

In our worship today, we introduced the song Sing to the King, a song talking about the coming King and His reign of righteousness and power. It is a great addition to our worship, and the church really responded well. It is based on an old hymn, whose lyrics you can check out here. The worship time overall was great in both services, and the prayer time for the students and teachers going back to school was powerful. Thank you to all who participated.

I was excited to see Ray & Deborah from Milton back with us (I just realized they have the same first names as Ray and Deborah Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond). :) I hope to get to know them some more. We also had several new people with us today, including Janice and Colby and a woman from New York named Diane.

We had 92 combined, and it was a good day.

What do you think?

Two nights ago, on the 700 Club, Christian leader Pat Robertson expressed his views on the leader of Venezuela which has brought much national attention. You can read about what he said and the reactions by clicking here.

I would be very interested in hearing your comments, but let me ask you to be respectful and non-accusatory, no matter what your opinion. I am sure different people will read this and react in different ways. I will reserve my opinion for a little bit. -Pastor

Sunday, August 21, 2005

One of the struggles of pastoring, specifically in preaching, is the constant struggle to not just disseminate information, to be practical in teaching the Word of God. To me, the Bible is not a textbook. It is not a history book, a poetry book, or a story book. To relegate the Bible to any one of these would be seriously undermining its beauty and effectiveness. The Bible is a LIFE book, a book that brings life, shows life, gives life, empowers life, and guarantees life. So my goal is to make sure that every week through preaching that the Word becomes alive. Typing that last sentence was so much easier than carrying this out.

Today, we looked at "Identity Theft and the Antichrist," looking at the beasts of Revelation 13 and their false messages and domination during the end times. But in preparing, I wanted to do more than bring about a good lesson on what the Antichrist and False Prophet would look and act like - to me, that's boring. How would I know for sure outside of same incomplete references exactly what these would be like? So I decided to talk about how the church responds to that spirit of antichrist and false messages. I capped off each message with a video from www.sermonspice.com that is entitled "That's my King" or "Do you know Him?" The gist of the message was getting to know Christ more so that we can show people who He truly is. I think it went well, although a frustrating glitch delayed the video feed - oh well!

I am always encouraged by our worship times. I know that there are songs that some like and that some don't. If I could impress upon you, the worshipper, to be open-minded every time a song is played and sung. I had an experience last week where I was at a conference, and during an important part of the service, they used a song that I used to just HATE, but it was SO effective that I just broke down. There are songs that I don't necessarily care for, but when my heart is open and ready to worship, God has a tendency to use these same songs to speak to me in some powerful ways.

Today's services were good. Combined attendance was 109, and the Spirit of God moved in both services. I was encouraged to see some people back, especially Scott & Stephanie and their kids. I hope that the Journey can become home to them. I was hoping to see a few people that raised their hands for salvation last week back with us, but they weren't and we will just have to wait and pray that they do come back.

God is good, church. He is SO good to us. One last word to provoke the Journey to better things: Don't forget that our church is what we make it. So if our church is friendly and welcoming, it is because you and I are friendly and welcoming. If our church is judgmental and harsh, it is because you and I are that way. But further than that, if we have a Spirit-filled worship time, it is because you and I beforehand have emptied ourselves and have asked the Spirit of God to work in our hearts. And for the sermon to be effective and life-changing, it will be because you and I have prepared for the Word to be spoken, opening ourselves to the Spirit's leading.

May The Journey experience the hand of God working in our midst more and more each week!

Sunday, August 14, 2005

The "sweet spot." If I could title today's services, I would say it was "the sweet spot." If you have ever had one of those days where so many things seemed to be in sync, where everything seemed to be going right, than you will know what I mean when I say that today was right. Not that everything was perfect - not hardly. But when the Spirit of the Lord decides that He is going to annoint all things surrendered to Him, then you know that the service will be blessed.

To begin, our worship was great. Standing in for Rod today on the guitar was Pastor Glen, the worship pastor over at Grace Community Church, who did a good job in filling in. I am so appreciative of our sister church and the relationship that we have with them. But beyond Glen, the worship was great. The people at the Journey, I believe, our beginning to "get it." By creating an atmosphere for them to worship in, our people are engaging in lifting up the name of the Father. It is good.

My message was ok. It had been a struggle for me to bring this together, to really grab ahold of what I wanted to say. But by the time I was done preparing (late on Saturday evening), I was pleased with the result. I felt me delivery was fine, although there were some distractions in the 2nd service that limited my effectiveness.

In our first service, we had several visitors with us, including my in-laws, Clyde and Rose Lowman, who have faithfully supported Krista and I since day 1. I was pleased to be able to show them what their financial support has produced. But we also had a 1st time visitor with us, Mike, who came with Andy Becker, and he raised his hand that he prayed with me to receive the Lord, along with Andy (? last name ?), who is a friend of Erica's. Along with them, a guy who has been with us now for a month or two named Pete raised his hand for salvation. God is good.

In our second service, we had a family from Lebanon visiting - Scott & Stephanie, a nice couple with a few kids. Also, Ida and Katie brought a friend (they visited last week through the carwash and are vacationing from Massachusetts). The friend was Lynette, and I hope to have them all back with us as well.

For the day we had 100, and I look forward to seeing the Lord continue to mold our services into a regular experience of worship, fellowship, and truth.

"What's the catch?" - totally free car wash August 6, 2005

On Saturday, August 6th, we hosted a Totally Free (TF) - all donations refused - car wash from 12 noon to 3Pm. I am amazed at how difficult this was - to get people to pull into our lot - because they did not believe that it was free. "What's the catch?" was the attitude. I had people insisting that we take money - and what I told them was, "We just wanted to show you God's love in a practical way. As we have blessed you, go bless someone else." People couldn't believe it! But I should have said, "This car wash is free, just like God's love is free." OK - next time, right?

I want to thank those who participated - Lee Thompson - who arranged the whole car wash. Thanks to the many teens who showed up - Kay & Pete, Cassie & Kara, Seth, Sam, Amy, Michael and Becca - along with the kids - Zander, Kayla, and Austin. Thank you to the adults - Kathy, Kriss, Krista, Terry - who helped out.

I would like to do one more TF Car Wash on Saturday September 10, from noon to 3pm. I would actually like to be a little more organized with this one, do some advertising, get some t-shirts made for the participants, and get some more adult help, specifically for the car washing and organizing the parking lot when cars are driving in and out. If you can help out on this day, please contact me and mark it in your calendar. This could be a great community outreach.

Thanks again to all who participated.

Sunday, August 7, 2005

Preparation - as we began our series Experiencing the Hope of Jesus, the theme of the message was to trust Jesus' words and prepare for His return. I felt the response to the messages was good - that it invited people to be again begin looking for His coming. I have always had a hard time with this particular aspect of the 2nd Coming as it is very easy for me to have a "yeah, right, He could come back today" attitude. This message to prepare was to me first - prepare your heart, get busy with the work, and look up because your redemption is drawing near. I am glad that our series started at this point - prepare.

I really enjoyed today's services, probably as much as I have ever enjoyed them, only because for the first time since we went to 2 services, our 2nd service had more people in it than the first. I enjoyed that - I actually thought that would be the norm when we switched, but it has been completely the opposite. I am ready for summer to quit stealing so many people away :) - I know in the fall that the attendance will spike up to around 120 once everyone gets back.

Today we had several families that were gone - and with Rod & Elizabeth on vacation - I wasn't sure what our attendance would be. But we had at least one family back (Kregg and Veronica-great to see you guys again!), and we had several visitors: Kyle Weststrates' parents were with us, and they were very gracious and friendly. Also, we had a totally free car wash on Saturday the 6th, and a woman who is vacationing in the area from Massachusetts - Ida - along with her family - Katie, Michael, and Isaiah(?) - came to the car wash and then came to church. It was great. We had 6 visitors, so it was a good day along those lines as well. In all, we had 97.

I am excited about some new families in our church (I am also excited about some of you not-so-new families as well) - but I am praying that these new ones will stick around and see the impact that can be made on this area. I am excited about Christopher and Amy, and also about Jim and Diane (who we spent a great afternoon with yesterday). May the Lord give them the vision that we have for this area, and the desire to carry it out in this body.

One other thing - at the end of the message in both services I asked if anyone had any questions - and some did. I will do my best to continue that - just giving us a few minutes to interact with the Word that was brought. I like interacting on this site as well, but in person with the congregation can also be a great thing. Let me know what you think about that.

In my mind, this was a really good Sunday, even though we were missing several families. But the Lord was good, and the word brought, though not profound, was a good reminder for us to be prepared - Matthew 24:42 - "So be prepared, because you don't know what day your Lord is coming."

Sunday, July 31, 2005

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY, JOURNEY!

Today was a day of celebration! 2 years is a huge milestone as church stats show that so many new churches do not make it to two years. Praise God that He has seen fit to sustain us and make us successful. I believe that it has been because we have been committed to praying for God to show up every service.

Today was a good service - we had 87, which is low, but that's what happens when a couple of larger families can't make it, right? But it was good. I ended the series God in the Movies with a sermon on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and we talked about the value of family. It was good, but I am glad that series is over. I am looking forward to talking about the coming of Christ over the next 7 weeks. I do not know if I will do a God in the Movies series again - I will have to see. If I do, it will probably be from current video releases, and maybe with a different emphasis in mind.

But the best part of our services today was the communion. I am so glad that we celebrate communion monthly, and I would love to (at some point down the line) do it even more frequently. But it was a precious time of worship and of remembering. Thank you, Lord, for all You have done. We intro'd a song called Mighty is the Power of the Cross, and it fit right along with the communion. We thank the Lord for the gift of His Son, a gift too marvelous for words.

After the service, we went over to the Rochester Commons and celebrated two years by having a picnic. It was so much fun (thank you to Kim Becker for all of her work!). In the middle of our picnic, it began to rain, so I engaged the kids and teens in a water fight...talk about FUN!

It was a great day. God is so good. I am so grateful to pastor this growing body of believers. May the Lord bring more people through our doors so that we can share the good news about Jesus Christ with them.

Wisdom from Noah...

Everything I need to know about life, I learned from Noah's Ark...
One: Don't miss the boat.
Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat.
Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
Four: Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
Six: Build your future on high ground.
Seven: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
Nine: When you're stressed, float a while.
Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting...