Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts From an Amazing Day...

• Fall Festival went well over 95 families attending our festival a big thank you to our small groups and to Bethany B, you did a wonderful job.
• I hope some of your best friends are lost.
• I hope we are a church known for eating with sinners.
• 2 quotes from today's message that really resonated with me; 1) Being lost is never fun, being lost and realizing no one is looking for you is even worse. 2) The pharisees looked down at sinners, Jesus looked for sinners!
• Our church is blessed with the number of babies in our church family - THANK YOU nursery workers, you are truly unsung heroes.
• Have you thrown a party lately?
• How can October be over?
• We are only 62 days away from January 1, 2011.
• I am looking forward to preaching next Sunday - I think people will be surprised!

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts From an Amazing Weekend...


Editor's Note; this week's reflections also includes stuff regarding our SHINE Day (Great Day of Service)

• Our young people led worship today and they did a wonderful job. 
• The mirror project was pretty cool.
• Shaun taught us today, that it is better to give up your dreams for HIS vision - Great point! May we all live this way!
• After worship today, Kathy and I attended a concert with a couple of friends, loved the music and loved the company.
• We are getting back comments today regarding our "Great Day of Service" I believe everyone who participated received more than they gave.
• It is really amazing the impact 60+ people can have when they choose to serve.
• From today's daily Bible reading I found this little nugget of wisdom
• Big weekend ahead; Fall Festival Friday night, parent dedication and baby recognition Sunday during family worship.
• We are showing pics from the Great Day of Service this Sunday as well.

SHINE - Our Great Day of Service

This Saturday, the members of PBCC will participate in our first "Great Day of Service". On Saturday Morning we will leave the building and move through out the city serving others. The service projects include serving the local police and fire departments, working with the Palm Bay Parks and Recreation Department, Assisting Unconditional Love, a ministry to HIV/AIDS patients in Brevard County and serving a local nursing home. 

We have called our great day of service "SHINE", this comes from Matthew 5:14-16, "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.  Our desire is for each of us to SHINE through service and as a result Christ will be lifted up. I am excited by the response from our church, I believe the servant's heart of our church is really coming through in a big way. I am also happy with the demographic of the servants of our church. Many of our teens, children, seniors, young adults and families are involved in SHINE. This type diversity is demonstrating anyone can shine the love of Christ into the lives of others. I am also excited about the reception we have received from the city. They have been very accommodating to help us complete our SHINE projects. Next week I will share some of the stories that happened as a result of SHINE. I cannot wait to tell you about what God will do through his people when they choose to SHINE.

Staffing in the local church

The times they are a  changing and no where is that more clear than when it comes to staffing in the local church. I grew up in the age of the one minister church leader. He was the minister, he oversaw the day to day operations as well as the ministries of the church. Soon the churches began to add a second staff person; normally a youth minister or an associate minister who could take some of the stress off the main leader. Most of my ministry colleagues were youth ministers before they became senior ministers. Occasionally there would be a third position available, a worship leader was added to the mix of a growing church and the three member team was often complete. 

However, as I said the times are changing. As ministry has become more complex we have become very open to new positions which will help us reach the world for Christ in the 21st century. Recently I was on a church website that was posting the following paid ministry positions...

• Content Development Team Leader
• Digerati Support Developer
• Director Of Network Operations

As you can see the more we move into the digital age the more diverse our staffing needs are becoming. The "Big Three" of a generation ago will simply not cut it if we are going to keep up with ever changing technology and methods for reaching the world. While our principles remain the same; reaching people for Christ and bringing them to maturity, it is important to remember the methods are ever changing. When I was working on my master's degree, one of my professors urged us to be life-long learners. With the ever changing environment of today, his words have proven to be wise advice. 

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts From an Amazing Day...

• Watched a dad baptize his daughter today - what a great thrill, congratulations to the Chris, Donna & Leah!
• Preached a message on faith today.
• Worship was great; what a great mix, we sang a hymn written around 1225 ad and a praise chorus from this century. Talk about variety! 
• Loved Joni Erikson Tada's definition of faith; Taking God at his word and taking the next step.
• Remember, Unbelief puts our circumstances between God and us, Faith puts God between us and our circumstances. F.B. Meyer
• I hope we will all overcome all obstacles to get our friends to Jesus.
• I also taught the Discover Palm Bay class today, I always like teaching this class.
• Received an invitation to a birthday celebration which also marks the man's 66th year in ministry this week. I count it a privilege to know this man - congratulations Glen.
• Our teens are taking over the worship next week with CIY Sunday, I am really looking forward to hear how the conference impacted lives.
• If you have not seen the movie "Secretariat", you are really missing a great movie, very family freindly as well as inspiring! 
• Speaking of inspiring, the miner rescue in Chile was very moving.
• It does not look like it is going to be our year in Gainesville.  

Roots

What holds you to your values? What keeps you going on when you feel you can no longer go on? I would have to say it is our roots. Each of are grounded to something that keeps up connected as well as helps us to hold on when the storms of life come upon us. Psalm 1 reminds us...

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

What keeps us grounded? According to the psalmist the word of God. There we find hope, counsel, wisdom and examples on how to live out our faith in a world that is far from grounded. Over the last few days, I have been reading through the book of Jeremiah and have discovered this young prophet was facing some troubling times both for himself and for the nation he was trying to lead. While his ministry and personal life were trying, he found strength in God's promise found in Jeremiah 9:23-24...

This is what the LORD says: 
      "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
       or the strong man boast of his strength
       or the rich man boast of his riches,
         but let him who boasts boast about this:
       that he understands and knows me,
       that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
       justice and righteousness on earth,
       for in these I delight,"        declares the LORD. 


I personally love the first part of verse 24; but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me.


Let me encourage you to make a point of knowing God, this is only possible when we read his word and make it habit to apply it to our lives. If you will do this you will find yourself being grounded and being a well planted tree. 

Perspective

From today's Bible Reading...

A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. Psalm 84:10

This psalm was written by the descendants of Korah. Korah and his descendants served Israel as the worship leaders in the temple. Their lives were marked by privilege and honor. As a worship leader, they had the best seats in the house. They saw the king and Israel at their best. Celebrations and worship were an essential part of their lives. Yet with all the privileges of being a worship leader, Korah's descendants stated there was something better. To spend one day in the house of the Lord was better than anything this earth has to offer. But they go on... they would choose to be a gatekeeper (aka a butler) than enjoy the carnal pleasures of the world.

How is it possible to choose to be a butler in God's house over everything this world has to offer? How is it possible to choose to spend 1 day with God than a lifetime without him? Simply put perspective. Perspective gives one clarity. Perspective helps us make the right decision and gives us the proper world view. 

Question; how do you see things today? Do you have the right perspective on things? I have to admit there are times we lose our perspective, there are times we spend time, resources and energy on things that really do not matter. Yet if we have the right perspective we will find ourselves more focused and more sensitive to what God desires for us. 

My hope is we all will be descendants of Korah and have the right perspective on this life and the life to come.  

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts From an amazing Day...

• Worship and Sound Teams really stretched themselves today! Thanks guys, your servant heart's do not go unnoticed.
• The "unplugged" worship really sounded great even though it was not planned.
• The power outage was a great reminder it is not by our might or our strength, but by the power of God we are able to what we do!
• Remember our calling as followers of Christ is to love God completely, love self correctly and love others compassionately.
• While it is good to see people conquer a physical infirmity, it is better to help people find the cure for their spiritual infirmity - sin. Sin makes us all spiritual sick, yet we have the cure the spiritually sick; a relationship with Christ.
• I hope we will all be willing to touch the untouchable for Christ.
• Yes, I did say "Cooties" in this morning's message.
• If you have not read Max Lucado's "Just Like Jesus" you are really missing a good book that will help you know Jesus a little better. 
• This is a challenging question; Are you living is such a way people are asking if you are Jesus?
• I am really getting excited about SHINE.
• Mark 1 is complete - 6 sermons down, how many more ????,  now we move to Mark 2 next week.

Lifting one another up

Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you. Ephesians 6:21-22

One of the great unsung heroes of the New Testament has to be Tychicus. He is mentioned 5 times in the NT; he is called a beloved brother, a faithful minister and a fellow servant of the Lord. It seems he was a  close companion of Paul as he spread the gospel throughout Europe. What makes Tychicus a hero is not his titles but what he did for the churches in the area. Paul said to the church at Ephesus, I am sending him to you for this very purpose... . that he may encourage you. 

We do not have one word from Tychicus, we do not read one prayer he said or one sermon he preached, but we do know he was an encourager. Paul thought enough of his coworker to send him to the church in Ephesus, so the church could be encouraged. In the first century, church work was hard. Often times people found themselves isolated from other believers or misunderstood by the pagan culture. That is why Paul sent Tychicus to Ephesus, to encourage the believers when times got tough.

Things have not changed much in 2,000 years. We can still find ourselves isolated or misunderstood by others. When this happens the temptation can be to throw up our arms in surrender. However just as Paul sent Tychicus to encourage the church God has a way of sending us a Tychicus type person to encourage us. The challenge for each of us is to listen to the Tychicus in our life. Their words may be just the the thing we need to hear so we can continue the work God has called us to complete. 

If you area Tychicus type person, here are some words to ponder as you think about encouraging someone today...

• “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you.”
• “Seeds of faith are always within us; sometimes it takes a crisis to nourish and encourage their growth.”
• “People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be, not what you nag them to be.”
• “You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins.”

Sunday Night Reflections

A few thoughts from an amazing day...

• Another baptism today - it is always exciting to see children claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior!
• Wrapped up our outflow series today, I am really looking forward to our "SHINE" project.
• Yes, OMG  and Gosh diminishes the Holiness of God.
• Moving toward spiritual maturity is never an option for a growing Christian; it is a decision that must be made every day in our Christian walk.
• I hope you are always ready to answer the divine question Who shall I send, who will speak for us?
• When I realize what Isaiah went through to be used by God I am amazed by his faith and boldness. I hope I will have the same type of faith and boldness as well.  
• I hope many of our preteen students will take advantage of "superstart" I believe they will be blessed through the experience.
• Wonderful weekend at Florida Christian College. We celebrated the inauguration of the fifth president. I believe the future is bright at FCC.
• Today I was reminded how fragile life can be as there was a shooting at one of our Christian Colleges today. Please pray for the entire MACU family today as they deal with this horrific situation.