What a year! What a change! What a church! What a God!!!
Don't you love this time of year? I grew up loving this time of the year and still do! Traditions, changing leaves, family. All reason to love the change in season. I'm sure you could add to that list. Today I want to add to my list. As thankful as I am for traditions, my family, and a beautiful place to live, today I am thankful for what God is doing in His church!
Today my heart is rejoicing over what is happening in the life of the church I serve. When we moved to Green Bay last August, I remember thinking, "well we are coming to a church of 40 people, I'll bet its a dying church, but lets see what God can do." When we walked in for our interview, the church was full of life! It was full of welcoming people and it was full of people who were ready to move forward in reaching people for the Kingdom! I was excited!
And guess what? A year later, I'm even more excited! As I sit here excited though, I'm thankful! Extremely thankful.
I'm thankful for for a loving church family. I'm thankful for new families who I consider to be friends. I'm thankful for 5 people accepting Christ in the last three weeks for the first time! I'm thankful for the folks who have been at Grace Harbor during the last 10 years. I'm thankful for people who are starting to step out of their comfort areas to reach and disciple people. I'm thankful that our church is meeting every night of the week but one! I'm thankful for a clothes closet which has reached dozen of families with a basic need. I'm thankful for a leadership team who is willing to take risks for the sake of the Kingdom. I'm thankful for a God who has given us the privilege of being on the front lines of a church that He is growing.
And I'm also thankful for YOU!
For your willingness to get involved. For you commitment to Christ. I'm thankful you are getting involved in ministries of the church. I'm thankful for your faithful giving. I'm thankful you are forgiving and willing to put up with a pastor and family who are not perfect. I'm thankful the days ahead are extremely bright!
These are wonderful days to be part of Grace Harbor Church of Nazarene.
Lord today we thank you for what you are doing in our lives. We are thankful you sent your Son Jesus to die for me. Lord, thank you for loving us when we were unlovable and thank you for allowing us to be part of your work here in Green Bay. We continue to look ahead at what we will be thankful for tomorrow as you add to our number, it seems daily! Lord give us the wisdom and the discernment to be good stewards of your generosity. Help us to always give you the glory and credit for all that takes place within the life of the church. In Jesus name...Amen!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
"And the green flags out!"
“Let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us.” Heb. 12:1 (LB)
“Love does not envy.” 1 Cor. 13:4b (NIV)
Growing up, Sunday afternoon Nascar racing was a tradition at my house. We would order Pizza King and gather around the TV to watch 42 cars go 500 miles, usually on an oval track. If you watch racing at all you know there is a particular groove on the race track that each car works the best in. If you were a Harry Gant fan in the 80's you knew he was going to run his car next to the wall all 500 miles. If you were a Rusty Wallace fan you would most likely see his car go the fastest on the bottom of the track.
Usually at the end of the race you would always see a few car switching lanes and trying to gt up to the front faster. Almost always, those cars would fall back because they weren't being patient running their car in the line where it worked best. They would get the idea to run a different line by looking at what other cars had been doing all day. They thought well if their car works good up high, then maybe mine will too.
We do this so often as followers of Christ. Have you ever looked at another person and said, "I wish I had what they had?" Or have you ever just wanted to be someone else because you liked their lifestyle better. God created each of us as unique individuals with a particular race to run. It may not seem like a glamorous race at times, but its a race uniquely designed for me. A God given race designed for me before I was born.
I encourage you this week to run the particular race the Lord has for you. Keep your eyes on the prize. We will all see the same finish line if we love God and love people.
Those races I grew up watching...I was always waiting for the guy who envied another guys car and switched grooves on the track because I knew what was coming...CRASH!
“Love does not envy.” 1 Cor. 13:4b (NIV)
Growing up, Sunday afternoon Nascar racing was a tradition at my house. We would order Pizza King and gather around the TV to watch 42 cars go 500 miles, usually on an oval track. If you watch racing at all you know there is a particular groove on the race track that each car works the best in. If you were a Harry Gant fan in the 80's you knew he was going to run his car next to the wall all 500 miles. If you were a Rusty Wallace fan you would most likely see his car go the fastest on the bottom of the track.
Usually at the end of the race you would always see a few car switching lanes and trying to gt up to the front faster. Almost always, those cars would fall back because they weren't being patient running their car in the line where it worked best. They would get the idea to run a different line by looking at what other cars had been doing all day. They thought well if their car works good up high, then maybe mine will too.
We do this so often as followers of Christ. Have you ever looked at another person and said, "I wish I had what they had?" Or have you ever just wanted to be someone else because you liked their lifestyle better. God created each of us as unique individuals with a particular race to run. It may not seem like a glamorous race at times, but its a race uniquely designed for me. A God given race designed for me before I was born.
I encourage you this week to run the particular race the Lord has for you. Keep your eyes on the prize. We will all see the same finish line if we love God and love people.
Those races I grew up watching...I was always waiting for the guy who envied another guys car and switched grooves on the track because I knew what was coming...CRASH!
Monday, February 6, 2012
What matters most?
“Keep company with God and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that.” Eph. 5:2 (Mes)
“In this life we have three lasting qualities: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love!” 1 Cor 13:13 (Ph)
How do you learn a life of deep love? The answer is found in the scripture above from Ephesians. The author says to “Observe how Christ loved us.” In the weeks ahead we will do just that. We will see how Christ loved us while here on earth. I want to give you a few things to think about this week as we start to understand how to love. Remember that without love, we will live a life with no purpose. The following will help us get on the road to becoming truly great lovers, a truly great person of love.
1. Learn how mature love acts and responds.
Personal change always begins with a change in perspective. It involves getting God’s perspective on what love is really like. Remember what is God? God is love.
2. Start your day with a daily reminder to love.
The first 10 minutes of your day sets your entire mood for the rest of the day. If you’ll get up in the morning and say, “God, I just want to remind myself that the most important thing is love. Loving You and loving other people. What matters more than accomplishments are relationships.”
3. Memorize what God says about love.
The Bible is filled with advice, inspiration, truths, principles on how to become a great lover, a great loving person. The problem is, you don’t have any of these in your mind. When you’re in a situation when you’re tempted to be unloving, to be jealous or envious or angry or impatient or judgmental or critical or any of the other unloving acts we’re all tempted to do on a daily basis – when those situations occur, because you don’t have any of those verses in your mind, your Bible is usually at home on a shelf and it’s no good in that situation. But if you will memorize a few verses of what God says about love and put them in your mind, then when you’re in a situation where you need them, God can bring them to remembrance – “Remember what I said…”
Some of you have never memorized anything out of the Bible. So when you get discouraged or when you’re depressed or when you’re angry or when you’re worried or when you’re fearful, there’s nothing for God to bring to mind. So you don’t have anything that God can use because your Bible is setting at home on a shelf. You need to memorize God’s word. The Bible says, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.”
4. Practice acting in unselfish, loving ways.
Love is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more it develops. Practice makes perfect. How many of you were expert drivers the first time you sat behind a wheel? None of you. In fact the first time you got in a car to drive, it felt quite awkward. You didn’t know how much to push on the accelerator. You didn’t know how much to push on the brake. You didn’t even know how to adjust your seat probably, adjust the mirrors. When you had to make a major turn, you thought, “How do I do this? How do my hands go?” It felt very awkward and unnatural. So you began to practice driving. The more you practiced, the better you got at it. Now it’s second nature. You don’t even think about it. You drive and talk on the cell phone or answer e-mail or put on your makeup or a dozen other things. It’s second nature. You don’t even think about it any more.
When you want to become a great lover, a truly loving person, you have to intentionally do some things that seem awkward at first. They don’t fit. They don’t seem natural. But if you’ll practice, the more you practice, the more it becomes second nature and you become a genuinely loving person. By the way, there are no natural lovers. It’s all learned through practice.
5. Get support from other loving people.
You only learn it in connection to others, in the context of community, in the environment of relationships. Get involved in a LifeGroup at Grace Harbor!
“In this life we have three lasting qualities: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love!” 1 Cor 13:13 (Ph)
How do you learn a life of deep love? The answer is found in the scripture above from Ephesians. The author says to “Observe how Christ loved us.” In the weeks ahead we will do just that. We will see how Christ loved us while here on earth. I want to give you a few things to think about this week as we start to understand how to love. Remember that without love, we will live a life with no purpose. The following will help us get on the road to becoming truly great lovers, a truly great person of love.
1. Learn how mature love acts and responds.
Personal change always begins with a change in perspective. It involves getting God’s perspective on what love is really like. Remember what is God? God is love.
2. Start your day with a daily reminder to love.
The first 10 minutes of your day sets your entire mood for the rest of the day. If you’ll get up in the morning and say, “God, I just want to remind myself that the most important thing is love. Loving You and loving other people. What matters more than accomplishments are relationships.”
3. Memorize what God says about love.
The Bible is filled with advice, inspiration, truths, principles on how to become a great lover, a great loving person. The problem is, you don’t have any of these in your mind. When you’re in a situation when you’re tempted to be unloving, to be jealous or envious or angry or impatient or judgmental or critical or any of the other unloving acts we’re all tempted to do on a daily basis – when those situations occur, because you don’t have any of those verses in your mind, your Bible is usually at home on a shelf and it’s no good in that situation. But if you will memorize a few verses of what God says about love and put them in your mind, then when you’re in a situation where you need them, God can bring them to remembrance – “Remember what I said…”
Some of you have never memorized anything out of the Bible. So when you get discouraged or when you’re depressed or when you’re angry or when you’re worried or when you’re fearful, there’s nothing for God to bring to mind. So you don’t have anything that God can use because your Bible is setting at home on a shelf. You need to memorize God’s word. The Bible says, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee.”
4. Practice acting in unselfish, loving ways.
Love is like a muscle. The more you use it, the more it develops. Practice makes perfect. How many of you were expert drivers the first time you sat behind a wheel? None of you. In fact the first time you got in a car to drive, it felt quite awkward. You didn’t know how much to push on the accelerator. You didn’t know how much to push on the brake. You didn’t even know how to adjust your seat probably, adjust the mirrors. When you had to make a major turn, you thought, “How do I do this? How do my hands go?” It felt very awkward and unnatural. So you began to practice driving. The more you practiced, the better you got at it. Now it’s second nature. You don’t even think about it. You drive and talk on the cell phone or answer e-mail or put on your makeup or a dozen other things. It’s second nature. You don’t even think about it any more.
When you want to become a great lover, a truly loving person, you have to intentionally do some things that seem awkward at first. They don’t fit. They don’t seem natural. But if you’ll practice, the more you practice, the more it becomes second nature and you become a genuinely loving person. By the way, there are no natural lovers. It’s all learned through practice.
5. Get support from other loving people.
You only learn it in connection to others, in the context of community, in the environment of relationships. Get involved in a LifeGroup at Grace Harbor!
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