Merry Christmas! On a beautiful winter morning here in Rochester, we sang and celebrated the birth of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our biblical focus was 2 Corinthians 9:15 - "Thank God for his Son--a gift too wonderful for words!" Thank You, Lord, that You came to us in our desperation, and You not only died for us, but You continue to bless us in so many ways. You are a Gift too wonderful for mere words.
This was a great day. Truly. We worshiped Christ, the newborn King. Most of our hour together (we met from 9am to 10am as promised) was spent in singing and music. Sharon Gaudet sang a song she wrote called "Babe in a Manger" and it was phenomenal. Thank you, Lord, for providing us with such talent. We watched a video presentation to the song "Welcome to Our World" by Chris Rice, which was absolutely beautiful. (I) Pastor Rob sang, "Strange Way to Save the World," and then he spoke for a few minutes on 2 Corinthians 9:15.
We had 100 people join us, and it was a great morning to just come and celebrate. Thank You, Lord, for the gift of a community of believers. We love You.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Sunday, December 18, 2005 - Advent week 4
Love was the theme of Advent week 4 - receiving love from God that gives us value and returning that love and value to others. It was a message that simply "plants a seed" in the heart, watered by the Holy Spirit. The application was given to help those who are less-fortunate or considered of less value, but each person has to take the idea of "love" home, and see where God would have them look with loving eyes at those around them. That message hits home with me.
The music was rough all the way around this morning. We had several issues that seemed to detract from it going smoothly (it happens). But our praise team gives 100% each time, and sometimes God needs to remind us that it is all about HIM, no matter how much we have prepared.
It was so good to see some people I hadn't seen in a while, especially Jeremy and Amanda. Jeremy is getting ready to leave for Iraq in January. We pray for a swift and safe return. We are still missing some people...and I personally miss them. Beyond that though, folks, the devil loves to isolate Christians. He does this because there is power in numbers. When we meet and get involved in each other's lives, satan loses some of his power on us because we strengthen each other. When you don't feel like being in church is probably when you need to be there the most.
Christmas is this weekend, with a unified 9am service that I am excited about. For the record, we had 117 on Sunday. Thank you God for the commitment of The Journey to keep seeking Your ways.
The music was rough all the way around this morning. We had several issues that seemed to detract from it going smoothly (it happens). But our praise team gives 100% each time, and sometimes God needs to remind us that it is all about HIM, no matter how much we have prepared.
It was so good to see some people I hadn't seen in a while, especially Jeremy and Amanda. Jeremy is getting ready to leave for Iraq in January. We pray for a swift and safe return. We are still missing some people...and I personally miss them. Beyond that though, folks, the devil loves to isolate Christians. He does this because there is power in numbers. When we meet and get involved in each other's lives, satan loses some of his power on us because we strengthen each other. When you don't feel like being in church is probably when you need to be there the most.
Christmas is this weekend, with a unified 9am service that I am excited about. For the record, we had 117 on Sunday. Thank you God for the commitment of The Journey to keep seeking Your ways.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Tragic...
I read this article on Saturday about the depth of bondage of sexual predators, and the lengths they will go. Two warnings: 1) watch out for your kids; 2) watch out for yourself that you don't get deceived by this monster of pornography. Love you guys.
Sunday, December 11, 2005 - Advent week 3
Joy was our theme this weekend for the third week of Advent, and we focused on finding the joy that comes from living in God's presence. Rod preached, and he did a fantastic job of communicating that "joy to the world" hinges upon the fact that "the Lord has come" - the joy comes from the Lord's presence. Psalm 16:11 says, "In Your presence is fullness of joy..." The message was well-received, as people at The Journey realized their need (our need) to spend more time in prayer and Bible study, seeking God's presence in their lives. To top it off, we had two men, Joe and Dana receive Christ into their lives during the invitation. Good stuff.
Although there was some confusion at different junctures yesterday, the day was good. We had 133, and I am very excited to see people consistently applying the Word to their lives. You are to be commended for not just being hearers of the Word, but this church has a bunch of doers. Thank you, Lord.
Although there was some confusion at different junctures yesterday, the day was good. We had 133, and I am very excited to see people consistently applying the Word to their lives. You are to be commended for not just being hearers of the Word, but this church has a bunch of doers. Thank you, Lord.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Sunday, December 4, 2005 - Advent week 2
The fact that I chose the theme of "White Christmas" on a day where snow blanketed the ground was very fitting, and today's message was a fitting one for what is happening at The Journey. With today being the 2nd Sunday of Advent, we talked about "peace." He is our Prince of Peace, and we talked about the fact that the journey toward peace is through forgiveness. But you know, sometimes messages are hard, as this was a hard one for me.
You see, it is challenging to balance my preaching. What I mean by that is that so many people confide in me with their situations and struggles. When I pick my sermon themes (almost always done in advance), I am normally unaware of what lies ahead. And so preaching on "forgiveness" today was completely of God, and I honestly struggled inwardly as I delivered this sermon. I know for a fact that we at The Journey simply don't practice forgiveness enough, especially NOT with each other. We don't extend it, we don't ask for it, and we hate to even have to talk about it. Life is seemingly much easier when we can carry grudges and not come to terms with some issues we ourselves have created - avoidance and denial. So a message on forgiveness is often an "in your face" message because it is one of those unavoidable biblical themes. If we are to truly be like Christ (i.e. Christians), then we need to be people who forgive, especially forgiving those in the household of God.
Let me caution you on one thing - forgiveness is NOT "letting bygones be bygones." It is not avoidance or "sweeping things under the carpet." Forgiveness is inter-personal, causing me to GO TO someone whom I have offended or who has offended me. There are even action steps.
OK - forgive me :) I am trying to preach all over again (it seems), but messages like this really impact me. I think about the message all day - Was I too hard? Was I not specific enough? Who did I offend? Whose life will God bless because they walk in this truth? - so I tend to ruminate. But also, to let you know, the Lord deals with me about these very same things. The Lord brought to my mind today someone whom I need to ask forgiveness. Time for Pastor Rob to eat some humble pie. And I have absolutely no idea how (or if) this person will receive me. We are ALL on this journey together, right? :)
I was pleased with yesterday's message and music, and despite the snow, we had a good crowd (107). I have determined that we should make it a practice next year to sing O Holy Night every week during Advent...WOW! Thank God for songs like that which give the clear meaning of Christmas.
So my prayer for us today and this week and this year and the next is this - may we be like the church in Antioch in Acts 11:21 - "The Lord's hand was with them." Despite our inadequacies and struggles, may God's hand be with us, working and performing in our midst those things that we can only envision and pray for.
You see, it is challenging to balance my preaching. What I mean by that is that so many people confide in me with their situations and struggles. When I pick my sermon themes (almost always done in advance), I am normally unaware of what lies ahead. And so preaching on "forgiveness" today was completely of God, and I honestly struggled inwardly as I delivered this sermon. I know for a fact that we at The Journey simply don't practice forgiveness enough, especially NOT with each other. We don't extend it, we don't ask for it, and we hate to even have to talk about it. Life is seemingly much easier when we can carry grudges and not come to terms with some issues we ourselves have created - avoidance and denial. So a message on forgiveness is often an "in your face" message because it is one of those unavoidable biblical themes. If we are to truly be like Christ (i.e. Christians), then we need to be people who forgive, especially forgiving those in the household of God.
Let me caution you on one thing - forgiveness is NOT "letting bygones be bygones." It is not avoidance or "sweeping things under the carpet." Forgiveness is inter-personal, causing me to GO TO someone whom I have offended or who has offended me. There are even action steps.
OK - forgive me :) I am trying to preach all over again (it seems), but messages like this really impact me. I think about the message all day - Was I too hard? Was I not specific enough? Who did I offend? Whose life will God bless because they walk in this truth? - so I tend to ruminate. But also, to let you know, the Lord deals with me about these very same things. The Lord brought to my mind today someone whom I need to ask forgiveness. Time for Pastor Rob to eat some humble pie. And I have absolutely no idea how (or if) this person will receive me. We are ALL on this journey together, right? :)
I was pleased with yesterday's message and music, and despite the snow, we had a good crowd (107). I have determined that we should make it a practice next year to sing O Holy Night every week during Advent...WOW! Thank God for songs like that which give the clear meaning of Christmas.
So my prayer for us today and this week and this year and the next is this - may we be like the church in Antioch in Acts 11:21 - "The Lord's hand was with them." Despite our inadequacies and struggles, may God's hand be with us, working and performing in our midst those things that we can only envision and pray for.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Sunday, November 27, 2005 - Advent week 1
40 Days is over, and now the Christian season of Advent is upon us. Along with Thanksgiving, this season is a time to remember what the Lord has done for us. In this season of Advent, we focus on the first coming of Christ, when He came as a baby in a manger. Advent consists of the four Sundays preceding Christmas, and the term literally means "coming." We remember the first coming of Christ, and we look forward to His second coming.
Each week of Advent has a particular theme associated with it, and this week's theme was "hope." Hope in the Bible doesn't refer to an anticipated possibility, but rather a "confident expectation." Our Hope is in Jesus Christ and His coming - when He says He is coming back, we have hope - the confident expectation that He will. So hope was our theme for this week, and we looked at the "Signs of Hope and Hopelessness" in the Bible in regards to the specific people surrounding the birth of Christ and how they reacted to the first coming - the shepherds, the wisemen, Herod, the innkeeper, Mary & Joseph, and the religious leaders. The message went well and was received well.
We had 135 people in this service, including 12 of my family members (holdovers from Thanksgiving). There was something special about the worship in both services that connected with my spirit - I was not just moved, but I felt that God was smiling on what we were doing. At service's end, one lady raised her hand that she prayed with me, and she received Jesus Christ into her life. It was a FANTASTIC day to be at The Journey.
I look forward with anticipation to each week of Advent, as we build up to Christmas Day and the lighting of the Christmas Candle.
Each week of Advent has a particular theme associated with it, and this week's theme was "hope." Hope in the Bible doesn't refer to an anticipated possibility, but rather a "confident expectation." Our Hope is in Jesus Christ and His coming - when He says He is coming back, we have hope - the confident expectation that He will. So hope was our theme for this week, and we looked at the "Signs of Hope and Hopelessness" in the Bible in regards to the specific people surrounding the birth of Christ and how they reacted to the first coming - the shepherds, the wisemen, Herod, the innkeeper, Mary & Joseph, and the religious leaders. The message went well and was received well.
We had 135 people in this service, including 12 of my family members (holdovers from Thanksgiving). There was something special about the worship in both services that connected with my spirit - I was not just moved, but I felt that God was smiling on what we were doing. At service's end, one lady raised her hand that she prayed with me, and she received Jesus Christ into her life. It was a FANTASTIC day to be at The Journey.
I look forward with anticipation to each week of Advent, as we build up to Christmas Day and the lighting of the Christmas Candle.
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