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Sunday Reflex | 04.18.10
- Amazing weekend
- Wrapped up our "Confessions of a... Pastor" series. Most fruitful teaching series yet with 43 total salvations over the past 3 weeks. Only God.
- Confession #3: I Struggle with Guilt.
- Guilt is really fear of man. We become paralyzed slaves to other people's expectations and perceptions of us. But God declares us 'not guilty' through Christ!
- Fear of failure is anti-gospel;
"I am a failure rescued by God's grace" is gospel. - The Bible exposes our performance failures:
we are weak, ungodly, sinners, and enemies of God...
yet Christ rescues us. - The reason Jesus died the death He died is because we cannot live the life He lived!
- There is no condemnation for anyone who is in Christ Jesus! Underline that in your Bible!!
- The Spirit of God defends you and prays for you.
The Son of God has the Father's ear,
whispering, "That person (you) is with Us!" - Nothing can separate us from God's love - not guilt or shame or any accusation!
- A long-time member honored me afterward with the greatest compliment: she asked me to preach that exact message at her funeral.
- I met a 15-yr-old girl after the 9:30am service who was one of many to stand from their seat and pray to receive Christ. She had run away from home this past week, was invited to Colwood, and God's Spirit whispered to her soul to come home in more ways than one. Simply awesome.
- Nearly 50 getting baptized next weekend.
Baptisms are my favorite Sundays!
Plus the tailgating is unparalleled. - Yes, we tailgate for Baptismapalooza.
Why?
Well, we tailgate for sports events that really mean nothing in the end. Why shouldn't we be more excited about lives transformed by the Gospel and celebrate all the more in church parking lots?!
LeBron James on No Excuses
Its NBA playoff season. My favorite time of year.
My Cavs are going full throttle versus the Bulls in Round One
(My apologies to Bulls fans.
No, wait, on second thought, no apologies).
I love LeBron James' attitude:
“There’s no excuses right now. We expect everyone that has a uniform on to be ready to play. It’s the playoffs.”
All hands on deck. No excuses. Focused on the vision.
Everyone has a strategic role to play to advance the team forward.
God's Spirit spoke through Paul similar words:
"For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them..."
There's no excuses right now.
Too much is at stake in advancing God's Kingdom, reaching the lost at any cost.
The local church doesn't want something from you,
we want something for you.
Christ expects everyone that has a uniform to be ready to play.
Paul challenges us to "outdo one another in showing honor."
Every Sunday morning is the playoffs.
Beat-Up, Broken, Betrayed, and Bored souls are waiting to engage. Ready to come off the bench and help move the ball forward?
Partner with your local church.
See what God might do through you...
Sunday Reflex | 04.11.10
- I love our church. Shared Easter 2010 digits and thanked our folks for choosing to reach the lost at any cost.
- God's favor is being poured out in Caro... we're just trying to keep up!
- Fruitful message series - SIX MORE people stood up from their chairs of being Beat-Up, Broken, Betrayed, & Bored and prayed to receive Christ!
- That's 129. In under 7 months. In Caro. Dang.
- One young couple in particular locked eyes, grasped hands, stood up together in a rear row and prayed to receive Christ today. Amazing moment in a quiet auditorium.
- A 64-yr-old guy sitting in the Cafe got in my face and gruffly said, "You are one h--- of a young man. Where did you learn to preach s--- like that? I LOVE this church!" Turns out it was his second week visiting from Frankenmuth. He's a divorced, dechurched guy looking for God's love... and he absolutely LOVES what we're up to at Colwood.
- Confession #2: I Am a Christian Atheist.
- Shared about my Grandpa meeting the President. For what its worth, download the message podcast from iTunes, because I can't do this true, hilarious story any justice here:
- Lukewarm Christianity makes Jesus want to vomit.
- God disciplines those He loves.
- Paul directly compares religious church-goers coasting in their faith with the people wandering in the desert for 40 years with Moses. It's the exact same language as found in Deuteronomy: "a crooked and twisted generation" is how the Bible refers to people in the Church!
- Paul also calls us out on "grumbling and questioning" our church leaders... just like in Moses' day. And they missed out on the Promised Land. Ouch!
- Big days ahead... Confession #3 next weekend: I Struggle with Guilt; Baptismapalooza on April 25th, and live Q&A texting on May 2nd...
Beat Up, Broken, Betrayed, Bored
At Colwood, our passion is to reach the lost at any cost.
Our strategy is simple: Engage, Enlarge, Endure, Enable:
We Engage people far from God to
Enlarge the Kingdom of God,
we Endure the journey ahead together and
Enable one another to serve in ministry.
Our current series is specifically and unapologetically designed for people who might never darken a church door
(click pic to enlarge):
Whether past church experiences left someone in your life feeling Beat Up, Broken, Betrayed, or just plain Bored, invite them to church this weekend. This Sunday's confession:
"I Am a Christian Atheist," followed by April 18th's "I Struggle with Guilt."
Don't say no for them!
Seize the awkward 15 seconds it takes to invite them to Confessions of a Blue Jeans Wearin', Coffee Addicted Pastor this weekend at 9:30 and 11am.
Who knows what God might do through your simple invitation?
Easter Egg Helicopter Drop 2010
Christ-followers have EVERYTHING to celebrate at Easter -
the tomb is EMPTY!
This Easter season, we are planning a creative block party for hundreds of area families. We want to love on our community and create a memory.
We'll be getting these freshly-designed Invite Cards into our Partners' hands this Sunday to invite, invite, invite.
Jerry Brownell specially designed our invites.
Church leaders - hire him. Seriously.
10,000 of these postcards are hitting mailboxes this week inviting young families.
10,000 plastic eggs, already stuffed w/candy & prizes,
are ready to rip. We got 'em through PlasticEasterEggs.com.
They even donated shipping!
Tees for our Volunteer Event Crew are coming from
the fine folks at OurShirtsDontSuck.com.
Church leaders - check out their PlanningEaster.com site for mega-ideas!
I can't wait for April to arrive! More info at Colwood.org.
Easter 2010 Reflex
Anointed.
Not a word I use flippantly.
But its the only biblical way I can wrap my mind
around Easter 2010 at Colwood.
Honestly, I was praying for just 1,000 to show up.
God multiplied our hopes and dreams by five.
I can imagine the Father hearing our prayers and saying,
"Hey, Jesus and Holy Spirit, circle around and watch Me do this!"
THE DIGITS:
5,000+ at Saturday's community party.
850 at Sunday worship experiences.
19 people stood up from their seats and prayed to receive Christ.
It was awesome walking around Saturday morning with nothing to be in charge of. Our Staff and Volunteers had everything mapped out - my role was simply to cheerlead!
Thankful for:
our Staff Team who led with clarity,
135+ Smurfs/Blue Crew volunteers,
& the foresight of our Old Timers years ago to sacrificially purchase 25 acres so in 2010 we could host five thousand for a Jesus-centered party.
God is on the move and we're just trying to keep up!
Photo Credits: Laura Kuhl, Conni Bouck, & Amber Herron.
View additional pix at:
Laura Kuhl, Amber Herron, Adair Aumock, Connie Bouck.
