Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Preached twice this morning, Sunrise and Morning Worship, I was pumped!
• Sunrise Topic - Mary, Last at the cross on Friday, first at the tomb on Sunday. 
• Mary's determination to find Jesus is one we can all emulate!
• Do you realize how alone Mary was as she sought out Jesus? She went to the tomb alone, she was willing to face the guards alone, and she wept alone and yet she was rewarded for her determination as she was the first to see the resurrected Lord. 
• Morning Worship Topic - The disciples on the way to Emmaus; dejected, despondent and downcast they found Jesus and their life was never the same.
• FCC Kissimmee's Good Friday service was very inspirational - Thank  you Tony for leading us through the last hours of Jesus' life on the cross.
• Kathy played her flute to kick off worship this morning, good stuff!
• Finished off a series on the Power of the Cross at Okeechobee, next week I am speaking  at Merritt Island at the MI Church, looking forward to being with a former classmate. 
• So good to see all the posts regarding worship today, Sounds like a good day for the people of faith.
• OK, I admit it the gators did not show up today; actually they were showed up by Michigan. 
• You gotta be ready every time you get on the court.
• Oh well, mark your calendar's, Gator football is coming in September.
• They are only 5 weeks of school left! 
•  BTW if you are ever preaching at an outdoor sunrise service in Florida, make sure you have a "Sand Crane Spotter" and make sure he is packin'
• Something to Chew On; Vision works like a rudder on a ship. Without it, the ship may travel a distance, but not necessarily in the right direction. With it, the ship reaches the destination by the shortest route possible. ~ From John Maxwell's Blog

Darkness Reigns... Briefly

On the night he was arrested, Jesus told his accusers, Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns. Luke 22:53

• When Darkness Reigned... Judas was betraying our Lord.
• When Darkness Reigned... Peter was denying he the Savior
• When Darkness Reigned... The Disciples fled
• When Darkness Reigned... The crowd asked for Barabbas
• When Darkness Reigned... Pilate washed his hands of the matter

Yes, when Darkness Reigned it looked very bleak - it seemed as if the entire world was turned upside down. Yet Jesus had the proper perspective. Did you catch the last part of the verse, this is your HOUR. Darkness was limited! In the grand scheme of things Darkness only had a momentary glimpse of victory. 

However scripture makes it clear Jesus reigns for all of eternity... 

God exalted him (Jesus) to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11

This Easter, as you read the headlines of our day and listen to the talking heads spout all kinds of course and vile speech and see evil applauded, would you remember we have a savior who reigns forever and Darkness will only reign... BRIEFLY!

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Week...

• Preached on the transforming power of the cross this morning. 
• The power of the cross is seen in how it changed Simon of Cyrene, the Centurion and Joseph of Arimathea. 
• Today's preaching point; the closer you are to Jesus, the more likely you will be transformed by Him.
• Transformation is seen in how we react to Christ, We can come to him just as we are, but we can never leave Just as we were!
• This verse keeps running through my mind today, Mark 15:39, when the centurion,who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Think about it the centurion probably never saw Jesus perform a miracle  never heard a him teach, however he was transformed by the way Jesus died - Wow!
• Easters Coming!
• Can there be any greater day to preach than next Sunday? I am pumped!
• Sunday's messages are titled; Sunrise Service, When God Calls your Name. Morning Worship, Inspired!
• Gators move to the Sweet 16!
• In 1977, I saw the original Lynyrd Skynyrd Band, this past weekend my daughter saw the new Lynyrd Skynyrd band - Good music has staying power - in the words of Ronnie Van Zant - "Turn it up!" 
• Began a mentoring program this week, looking forward to seeing what happens next.
• Big changes happening at FCC, it is exciting to be on the "ground floor" of this new venture. 
• I am surrounded by an amazing group of people in my department at FCC. 
• Can you believe 1/4 of 2013 is almost over. Better start checking out my naughty and nice list soon!
• To my friends up north, believe me Spring will come one day!
• Something to Chew on, “The place God calls you to is where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.” ~ Frederick Buechner

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day (actually an amazing week)

• Preached at Okeechobee CC today on the power of the cross. 
• Today's topic; the Thief on the Cross points to our assurance of salvation.
• The one who deserved Hell received Heaven. The truth of the matter is we all deserved Hell, yet we received Heaven because of Christ's work on the cross.
• The thief was saved from Hell, saved to Heaven and saved by Grace.
• There were two thieves crucified with Jesus that day; what made one of them ask for forgiveness while the other continued to hurl insults at the messiah? Simple, one watched how Jesus hung on the cross and that made all the difference in the this life and in the life to come!
• Tonight was the home concert from our New Creation tour at FCC. We really do have a talented group of students, but what is more amazing is their character. 
• Well selection Sunday has come and gone - got your bracket done yet?
• My son graduates in less than 8 weeks!
• I celebrated 2 years of employment at FCC this past week, boy has my life changed since 2011 (but that is another post)
• Something to chew on; From today's message - If you were to die tonight, and God asked you “Why should you be allowed to enter my heaven?” what would you say? I would not say it is because I grew up in the church, I would not say it is because I preached the gospel every week for the last 32 years, or that I loved my wife and was kind to my kids. I would say, God I am a sinner, and nothing in my hand I bring, but to the cross I cling.

Traveling with New Creation

Tomorrow I head out with 26 college students for our annual New Creation Choir Tour. This year's tour will take us to Pensacola, Panama City, Jacksonville, Tampa and Sarasota. All in all we will travel over 1,300 miles (and never leave the state of Florida). 

This will be my second tour with New Creation and I must say I am really looking forward to seeing what God will do through the our music and message presentation. The students and directors have put a lot of time and energy into the presentation and now it is time for us to see the fruits of our labor.   

The bonus of the New Creation tour is the building of relationships, both with the FCC students and with the people we will meet over the next 6 days. The tour is designed for us to build relationships with one another as each day the entire team is required to help set up and take down the equipment, spend time in devotions, eat together and make memories. We also build relationships with the churches we visit by as we stay in in church member's homes each night. We never know where we might end up sleeping that evening when we arrive at the church, however every time we receive a blessing from our gracious hosts. It is my hope our hosts receive a blessing from us as well. 

I want to invite you to join us on our tour as we travel around the state. The poster above has our dates and location. I am sure you will be blessed!

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Preached at Okeechobee Christian Church this morning on the Power of the Cross.
• Throughout history the cross has been idolized, despised, gold plated, burned, worn and trashed  however the cross cannot be ignored. 
• The soldiers at the crucifixion of Christ remind all of one can be close to the cross, and still be far from the Christ.
• Remember the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:18, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God…”
• Take away from this morning's message;  If it is true that your sins have separated you from God – and they have. If it’s true that Jesus’ death on the cross was for the forgiveness of your sins – and that is exactly what the Bible says, and if it is true that that by accepting Jesus Christ we are given the power of God to defeat sin and conquer the grave as Jesus did. Then the death of Jesus Christ on the cross is absolutely the most important event in the history of your life.
• How near are we to the cross of the crucified Christ? Our nearness to the cross will be evident in the life that we live. If we are near the cross, it will be reflected in how we live, what we do, and in our relationships with others.
• I am not trying be political but we all have to admit when it comes to Washington D.C. there is a leadership vacuum, and that is evident on all sides of the political spectrum.
• New Creation Choir tours begins next Saturday. 
• Amazed how much my granddaughter changes in just a couple of weeks.
• Spent the afternoon visiting with long time ministry friends, always a joy to reconnect with former ministry partners.
• Missed the Bible miniseries this evening so glad I have a DVR, also I am glad I have read the book, I know how it ends!
• Something to Chew on; Check out one of my favorite leadership blogs