The Adams family (no, they really are! :)
Ally, Stevie, Ella, Dylan, and Caleb - a wonderful group.
Monday, February 07, 2005
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Sunday, January 30th, 2005
We closed out the month of January on a bang! Having missed the 23rd, we were anxious to get things back on track and start praising God as a body again. And what a time we had!
A few things to note:
*Because we had missed a week, we really needed a good offering to stay on track financially, and we literally had the best offering we have ever had! Praise God, because it was getting tight, and we really needed for our people to not skip a week of giving. They were faithful, and God again showed that this is HIS church, not mine. In other words, with God, we will not fail.
*This month has been an interesting one in attendance. We had a moderate attendance on the first Sunday, which was the last Sunday of the Christmas holiday. Then the next weekend we had snow but still had church, which made our attendance a little lower (in the 50's). The week after that, we had a good attendance in the 80's, but snow canceled the 23rd, so we were hoping to maintain that momentum despite the snow. And we did! We had our highest attendance ever at 88! God is awesome.
*Because of our increasing attendance, I made the announcement that we would be moving to two services beginning on Easter Sunday, March 27th. What an incredible thing to think that God is moving so fast that we will need to do two services!
*Stanley, a friend of Andy's, visited with us in this service, and at the end, he raised his hand to accept Christ into his life. I love it when people have a divine appointment with God, and they don't even know it.
So far as the service itself, I finished up the first month of Experiencing the Heart of Jesus: Community by talking about "The Story of the Church." It will soon be posted on our church website, along with the audio, and I was really happy with it. It was a different type of sermon, telling the story of the church in the grand story of God, and I was very proud of it. The music was good, as we introduced Not to Us and heard praises from several people (Cheri, Kim, Elizabeth, Ed). It was a good service all around.
I am so grateful for what God is doing in our church. Thank you, Lord, for entrusting me to lead this great group of people.
A few things to note:
*Because we had missed a week, we really needed a good offering to stay on track financially, and we literally had the best offering we have ever had! Praise God, because it was getting tight, and we really needed for our people to not skip a week of giving. They were faithful, and God again showed that this is HIS church, not mine. In other words, with God, we will not fail.
*This month has been an interesting one in attendance. We had a moderate attendance on the first Sunday, which was the last Sunday of the Christmas holiday. Then the next weekend we had snow but still had church, which made our attendance a little lower (in the 50's). The week after that, we had a good attendance in the 80's, but snow canceled the 23rd, so we were hoping to maintain that momentum despite the snow. And we did! We had our highest attendance ever at 88! God is awesome.
*Because of our increasing attendance, I made the announcement that we would be moving to two services beginning on Easter Sunday, March 27th. What an incredible thing to think that God is moving so fast that we will need to do two services!
*Stanley, a friend of Andy's, visited with us in this service, and at the end, he raised his hand to accept Christ into his life. I love it when people have a divine appointment with God, and they don't even know it.
So far as the service itself, I finished up the first month of Experiencing the Heart of Jesus: Community by talking about "The Story of the Church." It will soon be posted on our church website, along with the audio, and I was really happy with it. It was a different type of sermon, telling the story of the church in the grand story of God, and I was very proud of it. The music was good, as we introduced Not to Us and heard praises from several people (Cheri, Kim, Elizabeth, Ed). It was a good service all around.
I am so grateful for what God is doing in our church. Thank you, Lord, for entrusting me to lead this great group of people.
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Just a note about our leaders at The Journey...
Just finished our first official leader's meeting here about an hour ago. It went very well. God has given this church wonderful leaders in every area, and I am so grateful. Lee & Joanne, Kyle & Amber, Brenda, Rod & Elizabeth, Chuck and Donna, Krista - you are the best! Thank you for reaching toward new heights and entrusting yourselves and your ministries into God's hands. I truly love and care for you all.
-Pastor
-Pastor
Friday, January 28, 2005
What do you think?
I just read this in a book I am reading called The Story We Find Ourselves In by Brian McLaren, a phenomenal book. On page 150, he says this: "What are we called to do? To enter the kingdom of God...to come into the future of the kingdom of God. And that's a great way to understand the church. The church is a community of people who are learning to live the way everyone will live in the future, reconciled in every way (emphasis mine)."
I thought this was one of the best things he said in this book - if we (the church) get it right, we are learning to live the way that God wants us to live forever...wow! It means that the sermons and lessons and messages are more than just for the moment - they are for eternity! Praise God.
I invite any thoughts on this - just post an anonymous message, and leave your name in that post.
I thought this was one of the best things he said in this book - if we (the church) get it right, we are learning to live the way that God wants us to live forever...wow! It means that the sermons and lessons and messages are more than just for the moment - they are for eternity! Praise God.
I invite any thoughts on this - just post an anonymous message, and leave your name in that post.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Snow was the big theme in most churches including ours today...church was canceled because of the Blizzard of 2005.
I hope to resume as normal next week, but thanks to Joe Johnson and his trusty plow for clearing our parking lot. What a difference it makes when you don't have to snowblow the whole darn thing!!! :)
Attendance was 0 today, although we did have one family show up. They live about 2 blocks from church and ventured out (God bless them!), but with no service, they don't count for attendance. Oh well - everything returns to normal tonight with women's Bible study...
I hope to resume as normal next week, but thanks to Joe Johnson and his trusty plow for clearing our parking lot. What a difference it makes when you don't have to snowblow the whole darn thing!!! :)
Attendance was 0 today, although we did have one family show up. They live about 2 blocks from church and ventured out (God bless them!), but with no service, they don't count for attendance. Oh well - everything returns to normal tonight with women's Bible study...
Monday, January 17, 2005
Sunday, January 16th, 2005
We had a great service today, as I continued the month of sermons on "Experiencing the Community of Jesus," talking about "One-anothering," and the missing ingredient in too many churches, including ours.
The music went well today, as it was good to have Audrey back and singing with us, and it was the first time that we had the live drums without any Christmas music. The people really responded to it, and it went well. They were applauding at the end of two different songs...cool.
We had 83 people in church today, with 10 visitors. Several people were missing, so much so that if we had everyone there, we would have had over 100! I am now convinced that we must go to two services, and we will begin that on Sunday, March 27th. I am undecided about the times, but it is time!
I didn't give an official invitation today, so there are no altar results to report. But I challenged our people to ask God to show them where they needed to be more focused on others, and it was a good day. Oh, and the Patriots beat the Colts today...praise God!
The music went well today, as it was good to have Audrey back and singing with us, and it was the first time that we had the live drums without any Christmas music. The people really responded to it, and it went well. They were applauding at the end of two different songs...cool.
We had 83 people in church today, with 10 visitors. Several people were missing, so much so that if we had everyone there, we would have had over 100! I am now convinced that we must go to two services, and we will begin that on Sunday, March 27th. I am undecided about the times, but it is time!
I didn't give an official invitation today, so there are no altar results to report. But I challenged our people to ask God to show them where they needed to be more focused on others, and it was a good day. Oh, and the Patriots beat the Colts today...praise God!
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Sunday, January 9, 2005
OK - I wasn't here for this service, and Pastor Rod is not in the habit of writing this blog, so I can only give you the skinny, and a very skinny skinny at that.
We had 57 in service today, which was pretty low, but it was due to the weather. Rod began our series for this year, Experiencing the Heart of Jesus, but talking about "Experiencing the Community of Jesus: The Importance of Unity." Everything went well, walks were cleared, and no problems were reported.
He used video worship this morning (he's weird like that ;) - and everything went well.
We had 57 in service today, which was pretty low, but it was due to the weather. Rod began our series for this year, Experiencing the Heart of Jesus, but talking about "Experiencing the Community of Jesus: The Importance of Unity." Everything went well, walks were cleared, and no problems were reported.
He used video worship this morning (he's weird like that ;) - and everything went well.
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
Come Naked to Church...
People should come to church naked. Now before you all show up at the door in your birthday suits, I don't mean physically naked (although that would make for an interesting promotion!). I mean spiritually naked.
I think too many come all dressed up - dressed with their success; dressed up with their hurts and their past; all decked out in the pride of their life or in the dilemma of the day. And frankly, most of what they dress in blocks their hearts from truly hearing God, blocks their eyes from truly seeing God, and covers their hearts from truly sensing God working. I want to come to church naked - knowing I need God, knowing that I have no good clothes (remember that Bible verse that says our righteousness is like "filthy rags"?), so I will just come like Adam in the Garden of Eden, and be naked as a jaybird (spiritually), and let God clothe me.
Now let me take the spiritual nakedness a step further. Think about it - if I have nothing to offer that is spiritually good, why should I worry about the physical so much? I mean, come dressed (PLEASE come dressed), but don't think that your clothes, as good as they look or smell, can impress God in any way.
*If you think the old suit and tie will warrant you spiritual points, you are wrong. Come naked.
*If you think that beautiful dress will warrant a 2nd look (and a 2nd blessing) from God, think again. Come naked.
*If you think that your designer jeans and polo and Doc Martins will impress God like He really cares about Abercrombie or American Eagle, you are experiencing a big GAP in your judgment. Come naked.
God is not impressed by us in any way, shape, or form. If you come to church to draw attention to yourself, you might as well come naked (although that would draw a lot of attention, but at least most of you wouldn't be showing off and you would be pretty humble).
So - although I will be out of town this coming week - I invite you to come naked - naked of your own pride, your distractions, your hurts that you cling to - and let God give you new clothes. Let Him clothe your life with His love and goodness and grace...
I think too many come all dressed up - dressed with their success; dressed up with their hurts and their past; all decked out in the pride of their life or in the dilemma of the day. And frankly, most of what they dress in blocks their hearts from truly hearing God, blocks their eyes from truly seeing God, and covers their hearts from truly sensing God working. I want to come to church naked - knowing I need God, knowing that I have no good clothes (remember that Bible verse that says our righteousness is like "filthy rags"?), so I will just come like Adam in the Garden of Eden, and be naked as a jaybird (spiritually), and let God clothe me.
Now let me take the spiritual nakedness a step further. Think about it - if I have nothing to offer that is spiritually good, why should I worry about the physical so much? I mean, come dressed (PLEASE come dressed), but don't think that your clothes, as good as they look or smell, can impress God in any way.
*If you think the old suit and tie will warrant you spiritual points, you are wrong. Come naked.
*If you think that beautiful dress will warrant a 2nd look (and a 2nd blessing) from God, think again. Come naked.
*If you think that your designer jeans and polo and Doc Martins will impress God like He really cares about Abercrombie or American Eagle, you are experiencing a big GAP in your judgment. Come naked.
God is not impressed by us in any way, shape, or form. If you come to church to draw attention to yourself, you might as well come naked (although that would draw a lot of attention, but at least most of you wouldn't be showing off and you would be pretty humble).
So - although I will be out of town this coming week - I invite you to come naked - naked of your own pride, your distractions, your hurts that you cling to - and let God give you new clothes. Let Him clothe your life with His love and goodness and grace...
How pastors pray for their people...
From Ephesians 1:15-23
I found this in my bible reading this morning, and it never hit me like it did today:
Paul's prayer for the church that he started in Ephesus:
1) vs. 16 - I have never stopped thanking God for you
2) vs. 17 - asking God to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you might grow in your
knowledge of God
3) vs. 18 - I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future He has promised -
4) vs. 18 - I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance He has given you
5) vs. 19 - I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of His power for us
To summarize, we pray:
1) In thanksgiving for them
2) For their deeper knowledge of God and discernment
3) For them to realize what God can do in their future
4) For them to realize the gift they've been given
5) For them to grasp God's power in their lives
Just thought I'd share...
A beautiful birthday card from a member...
I don't usually share cards I receive from others (especially church members), but this one is beautiful. Here goes:
"God has focused His attention on you. God pays constant attention to you. He never takes His eyes off of you. He never stops thinking about you. What a great celebration there is over your life -Both here and in heaven. Happy Birthday."
That is perhaps the most beautiful card I have ever received. Just thought I would share it as it made my day. Thank you for the ones who gave it to me -Pastor Rob...
"God has focused His attention on you. God pays constant attention to you. He never takes His eyes off of you. He never stops thinking about you. What a great celebration there is over your life -Both here and in heaven. Happy Birthday."
That is perhaps the most beautiful card I have ever received. Just thought I would share it as it made my day. Thank you for the ones who gave it to me -Pastor Rob...
Sunday, January 2, 2005
The Journey from Humbug to Hallelujah series ended today. I spoke on living a hallelujah life the whole year through, not just during the Christmas season. I felt the sermon went fine, although I wasn't quite as polished as I like to be.
Today's gathering was actually very good, despite the lower attendance (we had 67 with several families missing). The music service was good, and we handed out the baptism certificates for everyone who was baptized last year. I still have some left over, but we baptized 16 last year, and we already have our first baptism planned in February.
Today was a tough day for me personally. There were some issues with some church members over hurt feelings that I really struggled with. I sincerely care for all of the members of the Journey, and unintentionally, I let a few down over the holidays. Even with attempts to make things right, I know there were some hurt feelings, contributed to specifically by some unkind things said about me. I will deal with all these, but I wish at times my people could see how much I legitimately care. This is not a job to me - this is my life, my ministry. I do not do this to collect a paycheck (as I still really haven't). I do what I do because it is the passion that God has laid on my heart, and the people I minister to drive me - seeing their lives changed, watching them grow and struggle and learn to rely more upon God in every aspect of their lives - to me, that's why I pastor. I love watching this community of people come together, seek God more in their everyday lives, and together witness as God uses us to impact our towns and touch people. A community impacting a community so as to enlarge the community of God.
OK - a few other notes - Bill Ragland revisited with us again (visited in December) and seems to be such a nice guy who is looking for a church home. I hope we can be his new home. Jeremy and Amanda from Farmington visited with us for the first time - a nice young couple who seemed to legitimately enjoy the service - I hope to see them back. Also, Melissa and Mary - two twins - visited us today for the first time. I had emailed them back in April of last year, and they decided to be with us today. A slight delayed reaction, but I hope they were enouraged by the service and will visit us again.
Well, that is all for now. I will be away in Florida this coming weekend, but will do my best to report the happenings of the Journey.
If you visit our service this weekend, feel free to give me your comments and feedback.
Today's gathering was actually very good, despite the lower attendance (we had 67 with several families missing). The music service was good, and we handed out the baptism certificates for everyone who was baptized last year. I still have some left over, but we baptized 16 last year, and we already have our first baptism planned in February.
Today was a tough day for me personally. There were some issues with some church members over hurt feelings that I really struggled with. I sincerely care for all of the members of the Journey, and unintentionally, I let a few down over the holidays. Even with attempts to make things right, I know there were some hurt feelings, contributed to specifically by some unkind things said about me. I will deal with all these, but I wish at times my people could see how much I legitimately care. This is not a job to me - this is my life, my ministry. I do not do this to collect a paycheck (as I still really haven't). I do what I do because it is the passion that God has laid on my heart, and the people I minister to drive me - seeing their lives changed, watching them grow and struggle and learn to rely more upon God in every aspect of their lives - to me, that's why I pastor. I love watching this community of people come together, seek God more in their everyday lives, and together witness as God uses us to impact our towns and touch people. A community impacting a community so as to enlarge the community of God.
OK - a few other notes - Bill Ragland revisited with us again (visited in December) and seems to be such a nice guy who is looking for a church home. I hope we can be his new home. Jeremy and Amanda from Farmington visited with us for the first time - a nice young couple who seemed to legitimately enjoy the service - I hope to see them back. Also, Melissa and Mary - two twins - visited us today for the first time. I had emailed them back in April of last year, and they decided to be with us today. A slight delayed reaction, but I hope they were enouraged by the service and will visit us again.
Well, that is all for now. I will be away in Florida this coming weekend, but will do my best to report the happenings of the Journey.
If you visit our service this weekend, feel free to give me your comments and feedback.
Saturday, January 01, 2005
New Year's Eve Party - December 31, 2004
Are you supposed to walk away from a party with bruises (much less a church party!)? Well, the bruises were the good kind, when you play hard and you wrestle and you grab spoons from other people...ok, so maybe the bruises weren't good, but the party was! We had 38 people bring in the New Year at The Journey. The finger food and desserts were good, and the company was fantastic. The games we played: Cranium, Lord of the Rings Monopoly, Golf (a card game), Battleship, Spoons, and Mafia. You really get to know people when you play games with them. Check out some of the pictures listed above!
We ended our evening by praying in the New Year - from 11:45-12:05...Happy New Year, Journey!
We ended our evening by praying in the New Year - from 11:45-12:05...Happy New Year, Journey!
Monday, December 27, 2004
Sunday, December 26, 2004
The last Sunday in 2004 was a bit lower in attendance, but it was a good service with a good spirit and (what I felt was) a good message on the "The Gift of Opportunity: Writing a Good End to Your Christmas Carol." We will finish out the "Humbug to Halelujah" series next week with the New Year's message, and I have to say, I have really enjoyed Advent and this sermon series. It has been a good experience, one that I hope to repeat many times over.
Considering that our Candlelight Service and our Christmas Open House were pretty full, the attendance was a little bit of a let down, as we only had 42. But considering the sickness and the vacations and all, it was a good attendance and good service.
I am so grateful for what God has been doing in our midst this past year. Reading this blog from July to now has been quite a treat, as we have come so far and God has led us into some great things. I cannot wait to see what next year brings at The Journey!
Considering that our Candlelight Service and our Christmas Open House were pretty full, the attendance was a little bit of a let down, as we only had 42. But considering the sickness and the vacations and all, it was a good attendance and good service.
I am so grateful for what God has been doing in our midst this past year. Reading this blog from July to now has been quite a treat, as we have come so far and God has led us into some great things. I cannot wait to see what next year brings at The Journey!
Friday, December 24, 2004
Candle Light Service - Wednesday, December 22, 2004
A tradition that we have adopted here at The Journey is the annual Candle Light service. This service is a family event with no childcare, meant for the whole family to focus on Jesus Christ and what He has done for us together. Last year (2003) we had 25. This year we had 65.
The service is not meant to entertain, but rather meant to invite people to ponder and dwell on the love of God in sending His Son. We had several people do readings (me, Pastor Rod, Heather Branch, Lee Thompson), sang many Christmas carols, and did some congregational readings from Isaiah 9 and Matthew 5. Then before getting candles, I asked everyone to fill out a little slip of paper that was being handed out. The paper said, "This year I give to God..." and then there were blanks to fill in. We so often come to God asking, and this was an opportunity to come to God giving. So after the slips were filled out, everyone came forward, dropped their "gifts" into the offering plate, and then took a candle.
The "gifts" were moving as I read through them. What I want to do is (with no names used) record down what the slips of paper said. They are in no particular order, and there is a mixture of kids and adults (I have preserved the spelling to exactly what they wrote). Here goes:
This year I give to God...
dedacation and more attention
time
my hope and patience in difficult situations that I might act properly
my will and my full attention
nice stuff and (be) a nice kid
more time in prayer and bible reading
more time for & with Him
control in my life, all love and faith!
my unconditional trust and my unconditional love, my life and my willingness to believe and turn things over to Your grace.
more time in prayer.
my love, and myself, my spirit
my marriage & carreer
a new beginning relationship wise!
a relanshonship
my worry and stress
my life
control. I want to live my life in a Godly way & put aside my old ways & live as a true Christian. I will follow you because You died for me.
all of my negativity and my mean ways. To help me be a better person.
my heart
a new understanding
My life is Yours God I love you with all my heart
My time
My life or at least I'll try and pray for that...
My heart
My heart
My whole life and work in the Spirit not the flesh.
My leadership
my stress.
more of my time.
more time - more worship - putting my husband 2nd, not last.
complete control of my life
my trust, my pain and my attention.
My finances - my marriage - my family
all of my sins
my family
My life.
my full and complete trust, love, and life. To be used as he sees fit.
my art talent
my undying faithfulness
my time - @ least an hour today
I wot (want) to give love (and I) want to give to you my love
a relationship & my gifts & talents:
anger, children, husband
my financial stress
wish to be open with others
Forty-five different people, 45 different gifts...may God be honored not only by the presentation of our gifts, but may He be honored by our determination to truly turn these things over to Him.
The service is not meant to entertain, but rather meant to invite people to ponder and dwell on the love of God in sending His Son. We had several people do readings (me, Pastor Rod, Heather Branch, Lee Thompson), sang many Christmas carols, and did some congregational readings from Isaiah 9 and Matthew 5. Then before getting candles, I asked everyone to fill out a little slip of paper that was being handed out. The paper said, "This year I give to God..." and then there were blanks to fill in. We so often come to God asking, and this was an opportunity to come to God giving. So after the slips were filled out, everyone came forward, dropped their "gifts" into the offering plate, and then took a candle.
The "gifts" were moving as I read through them. What I want to do is (with no names used) record down what the slips of paper said. They are in no particular order, and there is a mixture of kids and adults (I have preserved the spelling to exactly what they wrote). Here goes:
This year I give to God...
dedacation and more attention
time
my hope and patience in difficult situations that I might act properly
my will and my full attention
nice stuff and (be) a nice kid
more time in prayer and bible reading
more time for & with Him
control in my life, all love and faith!
my unconditional trust and my unconditional love, my life and my willingness to believe and turn things over to Your grace.
more time in prayer.
my love, and myself, my spirit
my marriage & carreer
a new beginning relationship wise!
a relanshonship
my worry and stress
my life
control. I want to live my life in a Godly way & put aside my old ways & live as a true Christian. I will follow you because You died for me.
all of my negativity and my mean ways. To help me be a better person.
my heart
a new understanding
My life is Yours God I love you with all my heart
My time
My life or at least I'll try and pray for that...
My heart
My heart
My whole life and work in the Spirit not the flesh.
My leadership
my stress.
more of my time.
more time - more worship - putting my husband 2nd, not last.
complete control of my life
my trust, my pain and my attention.
My finances - my marriage - my family
all of my sins
my family
My life.
my full and complete trust, love, and life. To be used as he sees fit.
my art talent
my undying faithfulness
my time - @ least an hour today
I wot (want) to give love (and I) want to give to you my love
a relationship & my gifts & talents:
anger, children, husband
my financial stress
wish to be open with others
Forty-five different people, 45 different gifts...may God be honored not only by the presentation of our gifts, but may He be honored by our determination to truly turn these things over to Him.
Monday, December 20, 2004
Scenes from a Christmas party, December 19, 2004
Below are the pictures from this year's open-house Christmas party at The Journey. We had 65 people join us this evening, and we hope that everyone had a good time and walked away from it feeling more in the Christmas spirit!
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Sunday, December 19, 2004
I know that I have had a tendency to use the word "wow" alot in my blogs about the church, and quite honestly, I like the word "wow." It's not used enough anymore - everyone goes with "cool" or "awesome," but I use the word "wow" because I am complimenting God on what a great job He is doing here, and all I can say is "wow." This day was another "wow" day for us at The Journey.
To begin with, it was the fourth week of Advent, and we lit our fourth candle signifying love, which is also what I preached about - God loves us and we should love others. I feel that the sermons are going over very well (although I am majorly revamping them!), and the response has been great. When we started the service yesterday, we were low - probably around 50 people or so. But the rest of the crowd kept showing up, and by the time the service ended, we had 87! Wow!
We did have a visitor with us named Bill, who found us on the internet. He seemed like a really nice guy, and he told me that I looked older in person than my picture on the internet! :)
The worship time was great this morning. The response of the people was great this morning. And I believe the Spirit of God was able to work because people were ready to worship and receive the Word. A few people raised their hands for salvation this morning that I need to do some follow up with, and just a great morning.
But the day did not end there. We did an open-house Christmas party for our church, our second year doing that. Krista baked all day Saturday and decorated the whole house very Christmas-y, and we handed out door prizes, and played games, and gave everyone an ornament to take home. Last year at the party we had a total of 9 people show up. This year we had 65 people show up!!! It was great time, and wouldn't you know, it started to snow. Our first real snow fall of the year.
I do not know what I will be writing in one year, or what our attendance will be, or what major obstacles we will face in 2005, but this year has been a good year. I hope next year that we are talking about an additional 100-200 people (wouldn't that be something?!)
An additional note: our offerings are down this month (which is to be expected with Christmas), but pray that they come back up to where they need to be and that people handle their finances correctly and tithe.
But Sunday was good, and God is good. Wow.
To begin with, it was the fourth week of Advent, and we lit our fourth candle signifying love, which is also what I preached about - God loves us and we should love others. I feel that the sermons are going over very well (although I am majorly revamping them!), and the response has been great. When we started the service yesterday, we were low - probably around 50 people or so. But the rest of the crowd kept showing up, and by the time the service ended, we had 87! Wow!
We did have a visitor with us named Bill, who found us on the internet. He seemed like a really nice guy, and he told me that I looked older in person than my picture on the internet! :)
The worship time was great this morning. The response of the people was great this morning. And I believe the Spirit of God was able to work because people were ready to worship and receive the Word. A few people raised their hands for salvation this morning that I need to do some follow up with, and just a great morning.
But the day did not end there. We did an open-house Christmas party for our church, our second year doing that. Krista baked all day Saturday and decorated the whole house very Christmas-y, and we handed out door prizes, and played games, and gave everyone an ornament to take home. Last year at the party we had a total of 9 people show up. This year we had 65 people show up!!! It was great time, and wouldn't you know, it started to snow. Our first real snow fall of the year.
I do not know what I will be writing in one year, or what our attendance will be, or what major obstacles we will face in 2005, but this year has been a good year. I hope next year that we are talking about an additional 100-200 people (wouldn't that be something?!)
An additional note: our offerings are down this month (which is to be expected with Christmas), but pray that they come back up to where they need to be and that people handle their finances correctly and tithe.
But Sunday was good, and God is good. Wow.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Sunday, December 12, 2004
This Sunday was a good service. Overall, I felt that everything went smoothly, we had two people raise their hand that they prayed with me for salvation that I need to do some follow-up with, one of them being Dory's husband, Dave, who is a super nice guy visiting with us for the first time! I praise God that HE continues to work in our presence. Pray as I follow up with this family.
For the third week we also had Scott & Catherine with us, and their daughter Dericka. They are a very nice couple that recently moved here from Massachusetts, and I hope to get the chance to connect with them within the week.
The service did go smoothly, as we lit the third Advent candle and I preached the third message in the "Humbug to Hallelujah" series on Joy to the World, a look at how the coming of Christ brings joy. I have to say that although the sermon went long, I was VERY pleased with how it turned out. I ended up revamping almost all of it (as I also did last week), but I spoke on how the first step to joy is obedience, as we looked at the example of Mary. It was good.
The music was also good, but I felt a hesitancy to engage this morning by the crowd, like there was a block of some sort. I didn't feel they engaged a whole lot. I need to bathe our service and our church more in prayer. We did have 68 (praise God!), although I felt our attendance was really down.
Another good note: I am excited about the progress the praise team is making. Corey (he and his wife just joined and I am very excited about them), along with Andy (he and his wife are also considering joining!), and Ed (he and his wife are also joing us) have been practicing and are hyped up about worshipping God with their instruments every week. I am excited to see this progression in our church!
For the third week we also had Scott & Catherine with us, and their daughter Dericka. They are a very nice couple that recently moved here from Massachusetts, and I hope to get the chance to connect with them within the week.
The service did go smoothly, as we lit the third Advent candle and I preached the third message in the "Humbug to Hallelujah" series on Joy to the World, a look at how the coming of Christ brings joy. I have to say that although the sermon went long, I was VERY pleased with how it turned out. I ended up revamping almost all of it (as I also did last week), but I spoke on how the first step to joy is obedience, as we looked at the example of Mary. It was good.
The music was also good, but I felt a hesitancy to engage this morning by the crowd, like there was a block of some sort. I didn't feel they engaged a whole lot. I need to bathe our service and our church more in prayer. We did have 68 (praise God!), although I felt our attendance was really down.
Another good note: I am excited about the progress the praise team is making. Corey (he and his wife just joined and I am very excited about them), along with Andy (he and his wife are also considering joining!), and Ed (he and his wife are also joing us) have been practicing and are hyped up about worshipping God with their instruments every week. I am excited to see this progression in our church!
Monday, December 06, 2004
Sunday, December 5, 2004
Week 2 of Advent, dealing with Hope and the story of John the Baptist really was fantastic at The Journey. I have enjoyed the first two weeks of Advent, as it has brought a whole new dynamic into our worship and our service.
Focusing on hope, we sang "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and "O Holy Night," two songs that speak about the hope that we have because of Jesus' birth. And I will say "wow!" to the worship that we experienced. It was incredible - quite honestly the best worship service we have ever had. And worshipping with Christmas carols nonetheless! I pray that every service we ever have is like that.
I preached the 2nd week of Advent's theme on hope from the story of the birth of John the Baptist and Zechariah's song in Luke 1. It went very well, as the theme of hope because of Christ's coming really sprung out from Scripture. Advent is fantastic.
On top of all this, we had 65 in the service, which was good, altough still low because of some sickness that was going around. But we did have two women raise their hand that they prayed with me to begin a new relationship with Jesus Christ - Dory Gibson and Sherry Johnson. I was very excited about this, and I am praying that we will see them begin to grow and attend more consistently.
Another note - Andy & Kim Becker were back again, and I had the opportunity to visit with them for a while on Thursday the 2nd. I really like them, and I pray that this place becomes more and more like home for them.
One final thing - I am finding that as we grow, that it is so easy to lose our focus, and for different forces and interests try to determine what directions we should take as a community of believers. Some will vie for political involvement, some will push for more social involvement, and others will push for more denomination involvement - all of which are good for various reasons. It is my prayer that we continue to be a revolutionary community - bringing about revolutions of the heart that result in people who live for God, who want their communities and their homes to be better, and who tell others about the changes that God has brought in their own lives. Identity and mission are important for us to keep and remember.
We are The Journey - a church or assembly of believers - imperfect and diverse - who agree on six fundamental core beliefs (the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the blood atonement, salvation by grace through faith alone, the second coming of Christ, and the inerrancy of the Bible), but who allow liberty beyond these beliefs. God has used us tremendously because of our ability to not pigeon-hole ourselves and isolate or ostracize others. We adhere to the Apostle's Creed (see our website at www.thejourneynh.com), and embrace several values that we want to keep as distinctive to us. We are not sold on denominationalism, or on politics, or on becoming social activists. Our purpose is clear - we are inviting people on the journey toward God, together in community, to reach our culture.
Focusing on hope, we sang "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and "O Holy Night," two songs that speak about the hope that we have because of Jesus' birth. And I will say "wow!" to the worship that we experienced. It was incredible - quite honestly the best worship service we have ever had. And worshipping with Christmas carols nonetheless! I pray that every service we ever have is like that.
I preached the 2nd week of Advent's theme on hope from the story of the birth of John the Baptist and Zechariah's song in Luke 1. It went very well, as the theme of hope because of Christ's coming really sprung out from Scripture. Advent is fantastic.
On top of all this, we had 65 in the service, which was good, altough still low because of some sickness that was going around. But we did have two women raise their hand that they prayed with me to begin a new relationship with Jesus Christ - Dory Gibson and Sherry Johnson. I was very excited about this, and I am praying that we will see them begin to grow and attend more consistently.
Another note - Andy & Kim Becker were back again, and I had the opportunity to visit with them for a while on Thursday the 2nd. I really like them, and I pray that this place becomes more and more like home for them.
One final thing - I am finding that as we grow, that it is so easy to lose our focus, and for different forces and interests try to determine what directions we should take as a community of believers. Some will vie for political involvement, some will push for more social involvement, and others will push for more denomination involvement - all of which are good for various reasons. It is my prayer that we continue to be a revolutionary community - bringing about revolutions of the heart that result in people who live for God, who want their communities and their homes to be better, and who tell others about the changes that God has brought in their own lives. Identity and mission are important for us to keep and remember.
We are The Journey - a church or assembly of believers - imperfect and diverse - who agree on six fundamental core beliefs (the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the blood atonement, salvation by grace through faith alone, the second coming of Christ, and the inerrancy of the Bible), but who allow liberty beyond these beliefs. God has used us tremendously because of our ability to not pigeon-hole ourselves and isolate or ostracize others. We adhere to the Apostle's Creed (see our website at www.thejourneynh.com), and embrace several values that we want to keep as distinctive to us. We are not sold on denominationalism, or on politics, or on becoming social activists. Our purpose is clear - we are inviting people on the journey toward God, together in community, to reach our culture.
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